“Time change, faith does not.”

“Space, lines, light and sound” are the essential components of the experience of archi-tecture and the most profound buildings have captured these moments through thoughtfully orchestrated design. Recently, architects that have designed churches with these primary elements in mind have come under criticism by the Vatican for diverting from the traditional form and iconography of churches. But why contemporary churches still feel a lot like traditional churches. Not by looking, but experimenting (Mental not Physical). What are the elements that make a modern design buildings counted as church. This booklet is the analysis of the Jubilee Church (Chiesa di Dio Padre Misericordioso ) by Richard Meier (2003) cover topics of how the architect used architectural languagues to create church experiments (Holyness), and to answer the question

“what makes a church?”

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American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white.

Richard Meier (1934 - present)Architect

Education : Cornell University (1957)Awards : Pritzker Architecture Prize, Royal Gold Medal, AIA Gold Medal, Twenty-five Year Award

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Architects : Richard Meier and Partners, New York, USALocation : Tor Tre Teste, Rome, ItalyClient : Vicariato of RomeStructural engineers : Ove Arup and Partners, ItalcementiMechanical engineers : Ove Arup and Partners, Luigi Dell’AquilaConcrete prefabricated panels : ItalcementiLights and illumination : FMRS, ErcoYear of the competition : 1996Year of completion : 2003Constructed area : 830 m2 church, 1671 m2 parish complex.

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“White is the most wonderful color, because within it you can see all the

colors of the rainbow. The whiteness of white is never just white, it is almost always tranformed by light and that

which is changing, the sky the clouds, the sun and the moon”

- Richard Meier

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Jubilee Church is constructed from traditional Roman travertine and white, marble-like concrete.

The three concrete, curved shellwalls, were abstracted from the idea of theHoly Trinity , God in three persons as the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their structuralidea derives from a sphere being cut in half.

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“Square” represents a spacious area for gathering follows pricipals of the old traditional church. In this

case is the Vatican Basilica (st. Peter Square). The square contained a small garden and a fountain to

create square-like experience

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The primary purpose of ringing church bells today is to signify the time for worshippers to gather for a

church service. Many Anglican, Catholic and Luther-an churches also ring their bell tower bells three times a day (6:00 A.M., noon, and 6:00 P.M.), summoning the faithful to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The ringing of bells from a church tower is certainly a “joyful noise,”

reminding people of God’s presence in the world.

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Three main entrances placed on each surface between concrete shells, connected to three main hall of the church, which is the main prayer hall, Bapatism and

Confessional rooms and small prayer hall.

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Right part of the church seperated from the “Holy area” which are the main hall contains

with church’s kitchen on the basement, offices on first and second floors, priest’s apartment on

the third floor connected to the bell tower on the top floor.

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A church can not stand without a prayer hall. Jubilee church contains with two prayer hall which is the main one on the middle uses for main events and activities such as Mass , Wedding, Funeral and prayer on impo-

ertant chistian’s day futhur back in the main hall there is a room where the organ located, the smaller prayer hall is on the left side forsmaller audiences when the prayer

need more privacy.

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Bapatism and Confesstional rooms are the important element in christian church. In Meier’ design both Bapatism and Confesstional rooms are so different

from traditional ones in term of forms and represen-tation, because all ornaments has been deleted and

the shape are distorted in to simple geometric form. Evethough it still servedits functions perfectly.

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The church has less element in term of materials to conentrate on using light to be a material itself (shad-

ow and texture) So the church mainly use plane white concrete and wood. Direct sunlight does not

enter the church, but there are a series of glass skylights between the shells and over the main space, which are lit by sidelights, creating changing patterns

of light and shade on the interior. Light also rises from a narrow slot at ground level.

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The architectural concept is very interesting and inno-vative in the vocabulary of Meier, but posed a challenge

engineering and constructive. The proposal of the technical team Meier was to create a steel structure

covered with concrete blocks and then stucco, but that the building would have given him a lifetime maxi-

mum of 50 years. Therefore, at the suggestion of Anto-nio Michetti, technical consultant of the Vicariate, was a structure of prefabricated blocks of double curvature,

then assembled and connected by means of post tensioning, through horizontal and vertical wires. The candle is made outside of 78 segments, of 104 interme-diate and internal, which reaches 26 meters in height,

of 176 segments.

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A. Church HAllB. CorridorC. OfficeD. StaircaseE. Kitchen/ToiletF. Priest’s Apartment

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B B BBC D D DDD DE C FD

D D D

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Circulation

Light

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So what really make the Jubilee church (Work of project “church of the 200) a church? It is true that there are some elements such as the main hall, bell towers and a cross make this modern architecture counted as a church, but we could see that those elemens has been distorted in to just color and forms, but the Holyness feelings are kust the same as the old traditional church. The reason is beacuase Meier’s design have proved

that the institude can be form not only by what we see, but can create by feelings (by using architectual languages) as well.

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“The Absence of Color”

by

Chavakorn Sringkaranan5634719225

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