Hasta La Ideas

Slideshow: stripy monochrome triangles are folded into facets around the walls and ceiling of this church hall in Linz, Austria, to create a cavernous interior.

Designed by Austrian firm X Architekten, the Oasis pastoral centre is sited in the grounds of a steel manufacturer, where it burrows into a sloping landscape.

This grassy landscape slopes up over the roof of the centre, while an angled metal pole emerges from the ground to provide a wonky spire near the entrance.

Beyond the entrance, a two-storey-high atrium splits the building to separate administrative rooms and workshops from the main hall, which incorporates a bar, a chapel and an event space.

A concealed courtyard occupies a space at the heart of the building and features a solitary, rusty bell that is stationary on the ground.

Other churches worth a look include one that is see-through and another with steel whirlpools on the roof – see both plus more here.

Photography is by David Schreyer, apart from where otherwise stated.

The text below is from X Architekten:

Oasis Pastoral care voestalpine

Task

The office for pastoral care in the diocese of Linz, to be located on the site of the steel company voestalpine, is to serve liturgical as well as secular purposes. The plot of land lies as a “no-man’s-land” between main roads and industrial estates and is in need of a new strong character.

Concept

The study of man and work within the steel company led to a complementary addition to the site through its “built landscape“.

Existing woodlands serve as a conceptional starting point, an “oasis for the people”, and the new built landscape retains this character by being embedded within a hillside.

Conventional church buildings would not be able to achieve their independent meaning in this area as the voestalpine’s site is mainly dominated by relatively high buildings.

Implementation

The building’s main artery, which cuts into the hillside, runs towards the entrances and widens as it approaches the green space, finally leading up to the woods along a sloping surface.

The embankment, made of dark slag-stone, is either poured into the embankment or processed as pebble dash. The cross, the edge of the wood and meadow as well as the wooden shed are situated up against the edge of the building.

The planting increases in density starting from the lawn, via a diversity of plants, towards the coniferous forest. Climbing the roof via walkways and stairs, one passes the steel car port as well as the garden associated with the apartment and youth area.

Above: photograph is by Rupert Asanger

The “built landscape” concept also determines the interior.

The “ravine” divides the functional areas including offices, meeting room and workshops from the social and religious areas including cloakroom, bar, event room and the chapel.

The recessed “bell court” radiates a contemplative mood with its squares and its bell placed at ground-level.

The hollow space under the bell serves to distribute the sound (like the bell in the mining shaft). A wooden and white coated shell divided into triangles unites the chapel, event room and bar as the main rooms of the social area.

This crystalline geometry creates an important meaning encompassing Saint Barbara as patron saint of both pastoral care and mining.

Above: photograph is by Rupert Asanger

Two sliding walls enable a choice of separate or connected rooms for different events.

The open room as a whole inhabits the chapel and bar and thus establishes a unique openness and integration.

Above: photograph is by Rupert Asanger

Location: Wahringerstraße 30, Linz, Upper Austria Client: Diocese Linz
Start of planning: February 2008 Completion: Summer 2011
Art in construction: Gerhard Brandl

Premises: 4.843 m2
Built-up area: 840 m2

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Following last week’s announcement that writer Alain de Botton plans to build a series of temples for atheists, here are some more images of the first structure planned for the City of London.

Each centimetre of the hollow stone tower’s 46 metre height will represent a million years of the earth’s existence so far, while a millimetre-thick band of gold around the base will denote how long humans have been part of that history.

Images of the Temple to Perspective and other temples designed by architects Tom Greenall and Jordan Hodgson are included in de Botton’s latest book, Religion for Atheists – find out more in our earlier Dezeen Wire.

Since we announced news of the proposals last week, Guardian critic Steve Rose has described them as unlikely to “convince any religious adherent to cross over”, while Dezeen readers found them “beautiful”, ”perplexing” and “a waste of time” in equal measures – join the debate here.

Here’s some more text from Tom Greenall:

Temple to Perspective

Standing 46-metres tall and in the heart of the City of London, the temple represents the entire history of life on earth: each centimetre of its height equates to one million years of life. One metre from the ground, a single line of gold – no more than a millimetre thick – represents the entire existence of humankind. A visit to the temple is intended to leave one with a renewed sense of perspective.

Portuguese architects Cerejeira Fontes inserted this slatted timber chapel inside a school for friars in Braga, Portugal (photos: Nelson Garrido).

An opening in the corner of the rectangular Tree of Life Chapel leads visitors into a faceted interior, where an altar provides a place for individual prayer.

Gaps between the wooden beams allow them to function as shelves for storing bibles and other items.

A jagged opening in the ceiling of the chapel creates a window for anyone standing on the mezzanine above.

Some other popular chapels we’ve published include a boulder-shaped mausoleum and a seaside temple – see more stories about places of worship here.

Here’s some text about the project from the architects:

Tree of Life Chapel- Conciliar Seminary of Braga

The intervention strategy results on the insertion of a Chapel at the Seminary of St. James. It is a volume released into the antechamber of the Seminar which takes for its centrality. The design of this project-”body” wants this to be a unique structure, balanced and visible, making a piece with this exceptional presence within the building.

After outlining the vision of the sacred space that surrounds this body, we look for a proposal to absorb the religious character of the set, creating spaces and environments that promote a spirit of inwardness, reflection and retreat thus maintaining the same language.

The design of the new volume is articulated to the pre-existence, creating some openings and new forms of perception of the surrounding area. This semi-compact body is distinguished by the existing because of the form but is completed in symbolism.

The space surrounding the new volume is assumed as a time of transition. The aim of the project proposal is to create curiosity of those who wander there, inviting them to walk in his direction.

Walking along the Seminar we are faced with a rigorous “quiet” imposed by the rhythmic position of the access doors to the rooms. It was the intention of the proposal, break the rigidity designing an access door to the chapel in one of its corners, coinciding with the center of the antechamber. Thus, a subtle gesture drew an element with unique characteristics. This design is not in any way due to chance or the result of purely formal constraints and is purely aesthetic, but rather a consequence of the fact giving another dimension to the very concept of space causing a special attention and symbolism.

The internal layout of the chapel was designed taking into account two levels of appreciation and two types of vision. These moments distinct but closely related, refer to the celebration of the word space and the area of the Eucharistic celebration. These two moments are given by the asymmetry between the ambo and the altar.

Inside also reserves an area for the celebration of the word, which appears as an element of surprise, giving a moment of mystery when they approach. This space for individual prayer can be visible from common space of community prayer and vice versa, by the imposition of blades on the walls surrounding it. This constant relationship between the interior and exterior conveys feelings of permeability and “expands” the space visually while giving some privacy visible on the outside.

The structure of the chapel is designed by hand, developing in almost sculptural contours coated wooden blades that create moments of opening, allowing light to filter the power from inside to outside and vice versa giving greater dignity to the structural elements a result of manual labor. Banks arise from the excavation walls, as if it were a cave.

The culmination of this composition unfolds horizontally, with moments of rupture, which is drawn freely through a single gesture, a body. It is like a hug, an arm embracing something that is precious – the Chapel.
In short, the proposal surprises by the simplicity of its complexity. Peacefully framed in the pre-existence, is part of the history of religious architecture, which enables innovation in continuity, showing that the new architectural styles are able to belong to the Christian architectural tradition.

Architecture – Cerejeira Fontes arquitectos (António Jorge Fontes, Asbjörn Andresen, André Fontes)
Location: Braga Portugal
Project year: 2010
Construction year: 2010
Finished year: 2010

Construction is about to commence in Algiers on the third largest mosque in the world, which will only be smaller than the pilgrimage sites of Mecca and Medina.

German firm KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten won a competition to design the Mosquée d’Algérie back in 2008.

At the centre of the proposals is a 265 metre-high minaret, which will contain lifts to an elevated museum and research centre at its pinnacle.

A prayer hall at the far end of the site will accommodate up to 37,000 worshippers beneath a 50 metre-wide domed ceiling.

The complex will also include a cultural centre, a Muslim school, a library, a fire station and apartments, surrounding a central square. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2016.

KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten completed an art museum in China last year, which we published on Dezeen – see the project here.

See also: more stories about mosques, including a twisted mosque by BIG.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Laying of the foundation stone for the new “Mosquée d’Algérie”, Algeria

As part of the celebrations of Algeria’s National holiday on November 1st the foundation stone for the new “Mosquée d’Algérie” was laid at an official cere-mony in Algiers. This formal act marks the beginning of the construction of the world’s third largest mosque after the Islamic pilgrimage sites in Mecca and Medina. With its prayer hall for up to 37,000 people and the approx. 265-meter high minaret, the Mosque will in future be one of the largest religious buildings in the Islamic world. The complex offers space for up to 120,000 visitors daily and, in addition to the prayer hall and the minaret, boasts further facilities such as a cultural center, an Imam School, a library, apartments, a fire station, a museum, and a research center. Located a mere six kilometers east of the historical town center and not far from the airport, the new mosque com-plex, which has a gross surface area of approx. 400,000 square meters, is an important stimulus for the future development of adjacent districts. The new focal point combines religion, culture and research, while at the same time serving as a new center for the surrounding quarters.

Construction of the complex is due to commence in early 2012, once the requisite preparatory measures have been concluded. Commissioning is planned for 2016.

The entire complex is being built on behalf of the Algerian government on the basis of plans drawn up by a consortium consisting of KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten and the engineering firm Krebs und Kiefer International in Darmstadt, Germany. In 2008 the design submitted by the consortium from Germany won the international competition, and the ceremony for the signing of the contract for the planning services was held in July 2008 in Algiers in the presence of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Project Data

Developer: ANARGEMA Agence Nationale de Ré-alisation de Gestion de la Mosquée d’Algérie
GSA (total surface): approx. 400,000 m²
Gross volume (converted space): 1,750,00 m³
Height of the minaret: 265 m
Competition: 01/2008, 1st prize
Laying of the foundation stone: Oct. 31, 2011
Start of construction work: Early 2012
Commissioning: Mid-2016

See also:

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The Vanishing Mosque by RUX Design for Traffic	Cultural centre in Tirana by BIG	Dezeen’s top ten: churches

German architects Astoc have completed a monastery extension in Duisberg Duisburg with walls that fold around the entrance like origami sculptures.

Hamborn Abbey was consecrated in the twelfth century and has been altered many times in its history.

The recent addition is faced in white plaster and creates a third edge around a private courtyard garden.

A large triangular window projects proud of one elevation, while a glass wall at the entrance recedes into the facade.

Tiles cover the sloping roof of the monastery and wrap around a wall at the far corner.

The new building includes a church for choral prayers and a refectory for communal meals.

Other buildings for worship from the Dezeen archive include a church perforated by stained glass panels and a temple in Mumbai.

Photography is by Christa Lachenmaier.

Here are some more details from Astoc:

Extension of Hamborn Abbey, Duisburg

It may come as a surprise to find a flourishing catholic monastery in the midst of an industrial city like Duisburg. The urban district of Hamborn is, however, rather different from the ones dominated by withering heavy industry. The site of the present St. Johann Abbey in Hamborn was already settled more than a thousand years ago. The beginnings of its ecclesiastical history are marked by the donation of the Hamborn estate to the archbishop of Cologne in 1136 with the condition to build a monastery there. The small parish church, already existing on the estate since the ninth century, was subsequently converted to a monastery church. A Romanesque cloister was added to link the various buildings of the abbey with each other of which the northern wing still exists today. The monastery church was consecrated in 1170, elevating it to the status of an abbey. That title was annulled in 1806 in the course of the secularization drive. During World War Two, the buildings were largely destroyed but, as if in defiance, resettled by seven brothers in 1959. In 1994, the building complex regained the status of an abbey. In 1972, a three-storied extension was added to provide residential and office space, designed by the Cologne-based architect Hans Schilling.

Today, twenty-five canons are part of the abbey. As the order in Hamborn keeps growing each year, another building extension was required. The client wanted the architecture’ to express one of the typical ideals of a canonical monastery, namely that of “communio ad intra et ad extra” (“community inside and community outside). ASTOC’s design follows the principles of the Premonstratensians who consciously and deliberately combine monastic community life with pastoral and missionary service, building communities both within and outside the abbey.

The new oblong building closes the gap on the third side of a courtyard garden which was previously enclosed only on two sides. With it, a self-confident and new contemporary quality has been added to the heterogeneous buildings in the neighborhood. The new building adopts the principle of employing columns to line the corridor areas, as is the case with the medieval southern wing and the extension designed by Hans Schilling. The irregular geometry of the white-plastered new building appears folded. The folds allow the building to subtly react to the urban developmental and geometrical guidelines that are derived from the shape of the site and the connecting heights of the existing buildings surrounding it.

The spaces inside the new building satisfy all the requirements of monastic community life which includes joint meals in the refectory and choral prayers in the monastery church, requiring places and spaces to meet and communicate, as well as those for silence and worship. The Premonstratensians combine the inner life of the monastic community with outwardly directed pastoral care. This is also evident in Hamborn: just next door is the abbey high school, the abbey center for seminars and conferences, St. John’s Hospital, and the abbey cemetery which are all imbedded in the old vicarage of St. Johann and the neighboring vicarages that are also performance venues of the canons.

Apart from the residential wing, the new building provides a sacral chamber, offices and a recreation room with large doors that give onto the garden, the conversation and group spaces, terraces, and the patio. The different functions are all housed under one common roof while the spaces are organized around liturgical paths, each with their own distinct architecture: on the first floor, an historical crucifixion group visually leads on to the extension building, guiding the eye and subsequent movement in space.

Coming from the existing buildings, the path leads from the Romanesque cloister (and from the monastery church) to the chapel at the narrow end of the oblong building. This small, vertically rising sacral space, equipped with its own gallery, faces the east, permitting morning light during the early morning prayers. In keeping with the premise of intimately linking inside and outside, the chapel can be accessed from three sides: from the inside of the monastery, from the cemetery and from the street or the neighboring school. It can also be used for funeral services, for group services with school classes or for days of retreat. As such, the entire monastery complex is positioned between two sacral spaces that are connected with each other and to the monastery by the cloisters.

The two upper floors are more private in nature. Here, the bowers are lined along a double-story inner pergola. A golden front wall serves as optical apex of the dynamically-shaped diagonal surfaces that describe the space.

While the new building continues the neighboring building’s row of columns on the garden side, it presents a distinct and different look to the street side, with its white-plastered facades starkly contrasting the reddish brown brick of the neighboring building. The new building has a flat pent roof and is dipped in a warm antique white hue both on the inside and the outside, bringing to mind the color of the Premonstratensian order’s robes. The white surfaces are complemented by oak doors and floors, coated concrete, and the metal and glass facade of the entrance side.

The extension building is brightly lit, being suffused by light, understood as symbol of “the Premonstratensians’ commitment to the testimonial of life”, as Abbot Albert puts it. In all their actions, they strive to affirm life which the resurrected Christ contrasts with the darkness of death.

See also:

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Reading between the Lines by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh	Martin Luther Church by Coop Himmelb(l)au	Chapel of St. Lawrence by Avanto Architects