CULTURE · RELIGION
Bet El Community Temple
Rabbi Marshall Meyer
CULTURE · RELIGION
Bet El Community Temple
Rabbi Marshall Meyer
LOCATION
Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
ROLE
Design and Project Direction
PERIOD
1972 — 1973
Marshall Theodore Meyer was born in the United States in 1930 and arrived in Argentina in 1959. He initially took charge of the youth programs at the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina, working alongside Rabbi Guillermo Schlesinger. In April 1962, he founded Comunidad Bet El, an institution dedicated to promoting Jewish values and education, solidarity, human rights, and interfaith dialogue.
The proposed Temple is a contemporary and austere building. Its stone-textured walls and roofs, crafted in cast-in-place concrete, convey a timeless presence that contrasts with the large glass prism positioned above the altar. This great skylight — evoking the image of a faceted diamond set within the very walls of the Temple — allows natural light to enter over the Sacred Ark (Aron Hakodesh), while inviting the gaze upward toward the night sky and the appearance of the first star.
The Temple of the Comunidad Bet El was published in the collection 100 Masterworks of Argentine Architecture (CEAL, 1973).
THE TEMPLE IN DATA
Marshall Meyer
RABBI
1200 m²
AREA
800–1,000 people
CAPACITY
1973
YEAR OF COMPLETION
Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Design and Project Direction
Marshall Theodore Meyer was born in the United States in 1930 and arrived in Argentina in 1959. He initially took charge of the youth programs at the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina, working alongside Rabbi Guillermo Schlesinger. In April 1962, he founded Comunidad Bet El, an institution dedicated to promoting Jewish values and education, solidarity, human rights, and interfaith dialogue.
The proposed Temple is a contemporary and austere building. Its stone-textured walls and roofs, crafted in cast-in-place concrete, convey a timeless presence that contrasts with the large glass prism positioned above the altar. This great skylight — evoking the image of a faceted diamond set within the very walls of the Temple — allows natural light to enter over the Sacred Ark (Aron Hakodesh), while inviting the gaze upward toward the night sky and the appearance of the first star.
The Temple of the Comunidad Bet El was published in the collection 100 Masterworks of Argentine Architecture (CEAL, 1973).
Among the institutional works carried out by the Studio for the Jewish community of Buenos Aires are the Bet El Temple, the Agudat Dodim Sephardic Congregation Temple in Flores, the Asociación Bet Am Medinath Israel social and sports complex and kindergarten, and the David Wolfsohn Association kindergarten.
LOCATION
Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
ROLE
Design and Project Direction
PERIOD
1972 —
1973
THE TEMPLE IN DATA
MARSHALL MEYER
RABBI
800–1,000 people
CAPACITY
1200 m²
AREA
1973
YEAR OF COMPLETION
Marshall Theodore Meyer was born in the United States in 1930 and arrived in Argentina in 1959. He initially took charge of the youth programs at the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina, working alongside Rabbi Guillermo Schlesinger. In April 1962, he founded Comunidad Bet El, an institution dedicated to promoting Jewish values and education, solidarity, human rights, and interfaith dialogue.
The proposed Temple is a contemporary and austere building. Its stone-textured walls and roofs, crafted in cast-in-place concrete, convey a timeless presence that contrasts with the large glass prism positioned above the altar. This great skylight — evoking the image of a faceted diamond set within the very walls of the Temple — allows natural light to enter over the Sacred Ark (Aron Hakodesh), while inviting the gaze upward toward the night sky and the appearance of the first star.
The Temple of the Comunidad Bet El was published in the collection 100 Masterworks of Argentine Architecture (CEAL, 1973).
Among the institutional works carried out by the Studio for the Jewish community of Buenos Aires are the Bet El Temple, the Agudat Dodim Sephardic Congregation Temple in Flores, the Asociación Bet Am Medinath Israel social and sports complex and kindergarten, and the David Wolfsohn Association kindergarten.
©2026 SCHULMAN ARQUITECTOS
©2026 SCHULMAN ARQUITECTOS