Private Booth

Editor’s note: In advance of Sukkot, we reached out to architects and designers and asked for contemporary reimaginings of the sukkah. Charles and Julian Boxenbaum, the father-and-son duo behind BUZstudios, first came to our attention with their deliciously innovative Rugelah chair. Now, they’ve delighted us yet again—this time with their portable SukkahSeat. What follows is their description.

The SukkahSeat is a one-person pop-up sukkah for the intermediate days of Sukkot. This collapsible design can be stored in the workplace and carried to a suitable venue, where it is easily opened using a spring-loaded pantograph frame and then covered with a choice of panels. The seat and arm-table fold down, allowing the fulfillment of the mitzvah to take one’s meals in the sukkah. The SukkahSeat can be used by a single person, or arranged in clusters, or SukkahCities, for communal dining. It can be decorated by the user to taste.

The SukkahSeat is 9 x 9 tefachim in plan (the tefach is a talmudic unit of measure equal to 8 centimeters) and is approximately 18 tefachim in height, of which the bottom and top are open 3 tefachim. It has two full walls and two partial walls of 4 tefachim, equaling or exceeding halakhic requirements. The two partial walls and the hinged seat and arm-table provide rigidity. The s’chach, or covering, can be of the user’s choice and folds into the roof frame for transport. The roof and wall frames fit into a carrying case,The SukkahSack, which is equipped with a shoulder strap.

Designed by: BUZstudios LLC

Charles & Julian Boxenbaum

Kashrut Consultant: Rabbi Marc Angel