Scripta Manent
Tags
#Churches, #competitions
Category
Sacral Architecture
Project
National architectural competition for the construction of the new church of Colleatterrato Basso, Italy.
Team
Ilias Fragkakis, Cinzia Carbone, Giustino Vallese, Emanuele Pedicone
Client
Curia Vescovile di Teramo
Location
Colleatterrato (TE), Italy
Summary
PREMISE
Place of technical experimentation par excellence and testimony of the “spirit of an era”, historically churches have always been architectural elements lavished on intellectual, technical, and economic effort. The contemporary church, therefore, cannot fail to be anything less but a great example of a highly innovative technological dimension, capable of interpreting and solving the emergencies of our time: energy containment, management simplicity, reduced maintenance costs, elimination of architectural barriers, to name a few.
PROJECT
The architectural image of the ecclesiastical building is designed as a continuous “wall” made with complex geometry partitions and windows. The partitions take on the symbolic value of the “tree”, and at the same time they re-interpret the spatiality provided by the complex structure of Gothic churches. Through careful study of the dimension of the each partition, a sort of contemporary narthex is created along the church’s perimeter, where spaces to be dedicated to the sacristy and penitentiary, to the positioning of the choir and the baptismal font, are located. Moreover, thanks to their particular shape they are able to control the natural light, which enters the hall “mainly” in a diffused way to avoid glare effects, thus increasing visual comfort, especially for older people. And again, the organization of the hall plan through asymmetrical walls helps contain the phenomena of resonance reverberation, controls the standing waves inside the room, and evenly distributes the acoustic energy.
The building is designed as a modern cloister on which the hall and related services overlook the ground floor, the classrooms, and the premises for Caritas, directly accessible from the street, on the upper floor. Inside, the cloister is articulated through a sequence consisting of a water garden and fragrant plants, and a paved space which has at its center a large olive tree. This part of the ecclesiastical complex is totally introverted, screened towards the road fronts by a “curtain” of Cupressus sempervirens trees.
Finally, the parish house covered in stone, overlooks the upper street, the public square, and is open to the gardens of pastoral services.
Concept
“ Imagination is a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. The imagined tree imperceptibly becomes a cosmological tree, the tree which epitomises a universe, which makes a universe.”
The “tree” becomes the building’s structure which is shaped in a way to modulate the light and optimize the interior acoustics, while enwrap believers in a journey in faith and awe.
Light as architectural material
Light, symbol of Christ, cannot be grasped or stopped; yet it envelops us, illuminates, and warms us. Light is materialized thanks to the particular shaped partitions, able to control the natural light which enters the hall “mainly” in a diffused way to avoid glare effects, thus increasing visual comfort, especially for older people.
Space acoustics
“The word as a message, the word as a sound”
Everything in a church revolves around the word. From the reading of the Gospel, to the sermon, to the songs, perhaps accompanied by the sound of the organ. In a place of worship, good acoustics are very important and there is no amplification system that can guarantee it without it adequate acoustic corrections. The problem is common to all large enclosed spaces: the sounds bounce off the walls and reach the ear distorted, hindering understanding and generating a feeling of discomfort. Technically this phenomenon is called reverberation. Of course, for a room where acoustics play a fundamental role, at least the two main requirements should be met: the energy intensity must be uniform in all parts of the hall and there must be no echo phenomenom.
The organization of the hall plan through asymmetrical walls helps to contain the phenomena of resonance reverberation, controls the standing waves inside the room, and evenly distributes the acoustic energy.
Reverberation software simulations
Empty space
project's space
