The Story: A Mikveh is a Jewish ritual pool filled with rainwater. It is used for a variety of ceremonies including conversions, monthly ritual, and marking major life events. This community Mikveh embodies a modern understanding of mikveh use while conforming to traditional construction and operation requirements. It is intended to be welcoming: a spiritually, physically and aesthetically accessible to a growing Jewish community in Des Moines and the surrounding region.
Water is central to understanding the physical space and symbolism of the ceremony. The path water takes from the roof to the Mikveh pool is expressed in the architecture to communicate meaning.
TMKV Diagram
The initial diagram helps everyone get comfortable with the design as a “proof of concept”.
TMKV Concept Plan
The floor plan reinforces the importance of water in the Mikveh – the rainwater pipe is visible from the entry and central to the addition.
