Chabad of Charleston

Located in Mount Pleasant, SC, the Chabad of Charleston Center for Jewish Life serves as an active gathering place for the Jewish community. The diverse building program of 10,000 SF includes a chapel, public meeting / multi-purpose room, kosher demonstration kitchen, outdoor café, administrative offices, and day care classrooms with play areas.

The interior spaces are designed to be flexible and interconnected, allowing as many specific functions as possible. The multi-purpose room will be used by the public for receptions, guest speaker seminars, Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, and other events. Similarly, the demonstration kitchen / dining area will be used for formal dinners and instruction and opens into the outdoor café area.

The design approach seeks to provide a distinctive, timeless building that emphasizes the center’s important civic use, yet responds comfortably to its lower-scale, wooded context. Expansive use of glass allows a strong connection to the exterior environment and provides natural light throughout all the spaces. Other building materials include stained wood, stone, and brick.