Romina Carpentieri

The aim of this project is to keep the religious function of the building to the fore while incorporating the necessary space and facilities for other, everyday, activities. The concept for the design came from the idea of leaves: emphasising the natural attachment to the earth and at the same time the spiritual detachment from it, creating a dynamic floating form to inspire worshippers with a material recreation of an ideal of the Church connecting earth and heaven.

The two undulating leaves of the Church form the wall and the roof of the building; the former, seeming to rise up out of the ground and fold around itself, recalls a great stone wall , earthly and solid.

The latter, ethereal and eternal , floats in a mystical breeze above the ground like a radiant sail, sparkling with points of light, to become the crowning feature of the project and offer shelter to the ground floor buildings.

The whole confers a sacred mystical quality to the Church, suspended between heaven and earth, lightness and solidity, the temporal Church and religious belief. Following a careful analysis of the setting, it became clear the a modern contemporary style, far removed from that of the neighbouring buildings, would be the most appropriate approach to the design; a strong evocative statement, a thought-provoking presence in the midst of the community.

In keeping with this idea, the design developed a single building at street level completely given over to the Church and emerging from the ground in a strong symbolic statement.

All the other facilities are located in the floors beneath the Church and below street level.

The design is defined by the “ undulating leaves” motif of the walls and roof. Coming together other at the apex of the building to form the bell tower.

The scale and volume of the building enhance the sense of compactness and its natural integration into the setting.

The decision was made to design a building of modest proportions and height (3.5m.

) compared to the surrounding buildings, distancing the building from with its surrounding but increasing its visibility enornously.

The main façade of the new complex faces the recently completed town square, making the church the final link to complete the symmetry of the square.

By building the lower floors below street level and respecting the contours of the site, it was possible to avoid deep excavations and large infilling operations..

City:
Piacenza

Design team:
STUDIO KUADRA

Status:
Proposal

Website:
http://www.kuadra.it

Year:
2012

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