ALPHAVILLE / Catholic Suzuka Church

[caption id="attachment_854" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

From the architect. Responding to a dramatic growth in the foreign Catholic community in Suzuka, a new religious space is needed not only for worships but also social interactions. The Catholic Suzuka Church, presented by the Alphaville Architects, is an integration of multiple functions including a chapel, a community hall and residences for priests. Located in Suzuka, where the HONDA motor industry bases, the presented project is sitting on the cross junction of two major streets, with one being a newly built motorway and the remaining one being an ancient road connecting Tokyo and Osaka since Edo period.

[caption id="attachment_855" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

The project features an expressive roof which wraps up all the functional spaces. It is shaped as multiple diagonal arches overlapping each other with gaps. This was inspired by the stunning mountain scape surrounding the city, and reminds citizens of the natural elegance.

[caption id="attachment_856" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_857" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

To handle crowds on Sundays, the whole volume is lifted to maximize the car parking space underneath without shrinking the other functional areas. The roof is split into pieces every five meters – referring to the parking lot module – for skylights to introduce the southern natural light to the interiors. Connected by two gently inclined staircases, the pilotis and the entrance lobbies on the second floor define a plaza for social events and buffering from the heavily motorized city.

[caption id="attachment_858" align="aligncenter" width="1415"] Section[/caption]

Referring to the “Nori’s figure/ground theory”, the lobby is designed as an extension of the city pathways, manipulating relationships among the “inside-out” spaces converging at the church that allow easy approaches.

[caption id="attachment_859" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_860" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Structural Diagram[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_861" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] © Toshiyuki Yano[/caption]

With its lively gesture, this project surpasses precedents with enhanced accessibility, translating worships into daily-life philosophy and bridges mankind to the holy with falls of natural light.

[caption id="attachment_864" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Site Plan[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_865" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Plan[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_866" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Sections[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_867" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Axonometric[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_868" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Detail[/caption]

 

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  Architects

  
  
  ALPHAVILLE


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  Location

  
  
  Mie Prefecture, Japan


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  Architects in Charge

  
  
  Kentaro Takeguchi, Asako Yamamoto


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  Area

  
  
  1588.85 m2


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  Project Year

  
  
  2015


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  Photographs

  
  
  Toshiyuki Yano


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  Manufacturers

  
  
  Lixil Corporation, Panasonic, Toto, Daiko, JFE Galvanizing & Coating, Sanwacompany

[Google_Maps_WD id=24 map=13]

 

Swiss House XXII Preonzo / Davide Macullo Architects

[caption id="attachment_771" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Panoramic View[/caption]

From the architect. This building is a small construction that takes on a universal meaning; creating a relationship between the DNA of a place and its future and represents a contemporary interpretation of the historical values of a place.

[caption id="attachment_772" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Exterior[/caption]

The project site lies in the area of urban expansion at the limit of the countryside, north of the historical centre of the village of Preonzo in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. This rich Alpine context is dotted by traditional stone volumes, where animals were once housed on the ground floor and families lived above and are testament to the history of this once farming community. Our original building was one of these vernacular volumes. Recognising the significance of preserving the historical memory, the design retains this original modest volume (now the full height living room) and respects its scale. The client's need for a larger habitable space resulted in the addition of two new volumes that work in dialogue with the existing in terms of their character and scale, creating a new equilibrium generated from the historical context but interpreted with a contemporary language.

[caption id="attachment_773" align="aligncenter" width="807"] Interior Hhouse, Living Room With Sofa[/caption]

The roofline game of inclined planes that appear as a series of three traditional roofs, becomes a surrealist landscape. The inclined areas suddenly disappear from view and one does not have a clear perception of the space until one enters inside. The importance of the roof is underlined through the simple pleasure of an unexpected perception.

[caption id="attachment_774" align="aligncenter" width="667"] White house view from the meadow, summer day[/caption]

The materials used in the construction emphasise this relationship. The old buildings were built completely in stone and appear as compact volumes. The new buildings mirror this compactness by an homogenous finish on the exterior and interior surfaces.

[caption id="attachment_775" align="aligncenter" width="820"] Interior modern house, living room with sofa[/caption]

The openings on the East of the house are the reflection of the flower beds laid out on the ground below. The spaces made by the three volumes create a positive-negative effect on the facade; one projected, one carved out, with the sky as roof.

[caption id="attachment_777" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Site Plan[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_776" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Ground Floor[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_778" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Level +2.74[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_779" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Roof Plan[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_780" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Section[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_781" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] North Elevation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_782" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] South Elevation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_783" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] West Elevation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_784" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] East Elevation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_785" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Detail 1[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_786" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Detail 2[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_787" align="aligncenter" width="1414"] Detail 3[/caption]

 

 

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  Architects

  
  
  Davide Macullo Architects


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  Location

  
  
  6523 Preonzo, Switzerland


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  Area

  
  
  206.0 m2


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  Project Year

  
  
  2013


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  Photographs

  
  
  Alexandre Zveiger


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  Manufacturers

  
  
  Schüco, Sika

[Google_Maps_WD id=16 map=9]