Architecture of Memory: Exploring Post-jewish Spaces in Eastern Europe

An experimental study of the architecture of former shtetls, reflecting on cultural memories and Jewish heritage.  

Using archival, architectural, and artistic methods, Architecture of Memory investigates the spectral architecture of former shtetls, predominantly Jewish towns in Central and Eastern Europe before World War II. Through architectural designs, art, and theoretical discussions mapping the historical legacy and present condition of shtetls, author Natalia Romik explores themes of architectural disappearance, urban remembrance, and functional change amid social upheaval. Romik’s unique design research of synagogue ruins, burial grounds, former ritual baths, and other “difficult heritage” contributes to discussions about the protection of Jewish heritage in places where there is no longer any Jewish population. 

Natalia Romik is a practitioner of architecture, a designer, a book editor, and an artist. She was awarded a PhD from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and holds a scholarship with the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah and the Gerda Henkel Foundation.