• Summary
• Multi-Use Building
• Freestanding Religious Structure
• Multi-Congregation Design
• Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mentions

View images for Honorable Mentions: Gutter to Cathedral  |   Monastery Light  |   Gulling Entry

From Gutter to Cathedral

American street will be the cathedral of tomorrow. The adjacent highrise facades create similiar elevating experience like the medieval gothic cathedrals. Neighbouring groundfloor premises offer spaces for offices and communal spaces for daycare or education for communities use. These spaces can be seen as the modern equivalent for historic sidechapels of old churcses. Monastery-like spaces can be found from the upper floors of existing buildings. These spaces can used as YMCA for instance.

With these examples it seems that the church and all functions associated to it can exist right there where the ordinary everyday life is - in the middle of people, every day, every moment. American street will offer a solution for the needs of congrecations. The answer lies right there in front of us. It is just waiting for the holy spirit to land on it. In this solution the sacred central space for the holy spirit will magically emerge above the street when helium filled domes cover the street like angels of light as they spread their white feather wings. This ultra light weight structure has also visual and architectural references to the vaults and arches of gothic cathedrals. Their visual expression of the holy spirit in the skies was made with stone and with massive loadbearing structures. Now we can create the same elevating impression with structure that actually rises to the skies. This up rising event happens only when the religious ceremonies take place. Only on that moment the angels of light will become visible. It makes the experience unique and special. The shape of the sacred space with heavenly lights from above is universal however. It works for everyone regardless of religious directions. With this solution, every part of the congregation spaces will be in use 24/7. They will be close to communities and attainable for everyone. The integration is complete. On ordinary weekdays when the cathedral has gone the street can be in its original use. But with this solution the American street can evolve to European like promenade or it can be the urban park for example. The street can also be transformed to basketball courts like it is presented in the images.

On the sportfield all players are equal. On the basketball court political, racial, religious or filosophical issues lose their meaning. On the court physical action will release the spiritual experience. The body and the mind will unite on the court. This shows also that the street can actually be the place where the work of God takes place. It happens everytime when people work together for common goal, when words are spoken, when hands are shaken, when the smile of the passer by shines a light on ones day. All this can happen on an American street.

Environment friendly aspects of this solution:

1. locally reduced car trafic - clearer air and a place for quiet relaxation in the city
2. minimized energy consumption - no need to warm up the huge central space
3. minimal material use in construction - no need to build new walls
4. flexible multi use of existing spaces - spaces will be in efficient use 24/7
5. the densification of the urban structure by layering of functions in time
6. no need to build new infrastructure - complete integration to the existing infrastructure.

Monastery Light

In the early Christian church, homes were used for formal rites in addition to normal domestic activities. A church building is essentially a house to allow people to gather for worship and witness. The building itself is neither sacred nor holy. It is only the relationship between people that can be considered in these terms.

Typically, a church is exceptionally active only on Sundays and remains dormant the remainder of the week. To ensure greater importance among the community, a house of worship should be active each day of the week. All sorts of activities should be considered: multiple faiths, education, commerce, sports, flea markets, concerts, film, housing, a voting center, farming... and the list goes on and on. Anything and everything should be acknowelged. The house of worship must transform into a house of many different uses.

In order to achieve this, unorthodox forms not typically associated with church structures must be considered. However, iconography still remains important to ensure recognition. While many community members may not be familiar with a church, they will be familiar with an iconic building that offers multiple readings and interpretations.

To reinforce the integration of congregation and community, an organized structure supports free plan universal space. The same structure also supports housing and community gardens. In this manner, the congregation literally supports the community.

Site selection also spotlights community. This project focuses on an urban site, for example, a residential neighborhood within the City of Chicago. A site should be chosen in a place where there is a lack of an activity center. A congregation can take on the role of vanguard in leading a revival. Another option would be a site with a mixture of some commerce within a primarily residential setting. This way a congregation could be opportunistic and take advantage of foot traffic as a means to integrate with a community.

A good community is one that is sustainable. It would be assumed that local materials would be sourced, pervious pavers would be used in the parking areas, and that bicycle storage would be provided. The form also allows for natural ventilation and shading in the summer, and direct sunlight in the winter. But more importantly, rather than focusing on a LEED checklist, a more holistic approach is taken. On the housing level, instead of individual balconies facing outward, they are all combined and turned inward to create a communal courtyard. A sense of community is again reinforced with communal roof gardens. These may be shared with tenants, congregations, community members, and even local businesses such as cafes or restaurants. By allowing for multiple congregations and faiths, and many different activities to take place, the building is used much more often, and is therefore more efficient. Also, because of the housing, a congregation may be supplemented with rental or sales income to further sustain their mission.

Gulling Entry

With society growing ever more interconnected with every avenue of life, religious buildings need to integrate with the community to further develop its societal relationship. In order to establish a niche in the local surroundings of the Southside of Chicago (59th st & Throop Ave), the Building will not only house religious events, but service the community by offering community-based organizations, such as farmers markets, thrift exchanges and summer camp programs. The Area of Chicago the building is situated in is going through a brutal process of Gentrification, where the city government is reinventing a neighborhood by encouraging the wealthy to buy real-estate in poorer communities, driving living expenses higher and higher. The site is also an empty lot, giving the building excellent access to parking and gardening opportunities. Chicago Transit Authority provides for multiple directions and methods of arrival to the near by vicinity. By changing the land from a wasteland into a productive plot of land, this project can help encourage a smoother transition by providing the local community with a means to enrich their own society. Much like the park systems in Paris, FR, the building should be socially used from dusk through dawn and into the night. This building is ultimately the center stage for faith to be performed inside and carried out. By involving the community in this ceremony, passion will be ignited within and people’s faith will be strengthened.

In order to keep environmental issues to a minimum, various eco-friendly ideas have been incorporated. Local Materials should be used when so readily available, much like the concrete admixture fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal production and lowers the water ratio required for concrete. The roof structure was sloped to encourage rain collection for the self watering of native gardens and minimize the amount of city water utilized. The Native plants inherently survive more suitably and readily to the local environment and rain patterns. Passive heating and cooling has been incorporated through the use of a vine growth façade, which helps block the sun during the summer and dies off in the winter, allowing sun through the windows. The buildings were separated to isolate functions of program to help better control the heating and cooling loads on the buildings mechanical and electrical equipment. With the Future in mind, the Mechanical and Electrical Equipment should be chosen with the efficiency in mind, since the higher efficiency will pay for itself in time. Overall, the building is simple enough to be assembled largely offsite and is designed to keep expenses down, thus keeping funds higher and time constraints smaller. After all, it is senseless to enrich the community only to turn and hurt the environment we inhabit. If we grow together, we grow with the rest of the world as well.