Dr. Anat Geva explores how American synagogues of the 1950s and 1960s express American Jewry’s resilience in continuing their physical and spiritual identity, while embracing modernism, American values, and landscape. In addition, she discusses preserving the recent past (e.g., mid 20th century architecture). Sacred architecture from this era faces a number of preservation challenges, including changes in demographics, faith rituals, building codes, and energy conservation.

ANAT GEVA is a professor of architecture at Texas A&M University, a registered architect in Israel, and AIA associate member. She is the author of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sacred Architecture: Faith, Form, and Building Technology; Modernism and American Mid 20-Century Sacred Architecture; and coauthor of Israel as a Modern Architectural Experimental Lab, 1948–1978.