Det­ta­glio del pro­get­to ed. 2024

mou­n­­tain-church-of-julong / Switzerland

Dr.-Ing. Dirk U. Moench

Pro­get­ti­sta Dr.-Ing. Dirk U. Moench
Loca­tion Julong New Town, 362102 Quan­z­hou, Fujian Pro­vin­ce, China
Nazio­ne Chi­na
Desi­gn Team

Com­pa­ny: INU­CE • Dirk U. Moench
Chief Archi­tect: Dr.-Ing. Dirk U. Moench
Anno 2024
Cre­di­ti Fotografici

Pho­to­gra­pher: SHIKAI

Foto ester­ni

Descri­zio­ne del progetto

MOUN­TAIN CHURCH of JULONG
An Ark for the New Town

BACK­GROUND: Julong is a new town off the 7‑mi­l­­lion-city of Quan­z­hou. Sin­ce ope­ning its popu­la­tion has gro­wn, attrac­ting peo­ple from the enti­re coun­try. Today, it is home to a mino­ri­ty of Pro­te­stan­ts. For years they met in a shop front. With ser­vi­ces pac­ked, they deci­ded to build a church for 1000 atten­dees. Nestled at the foot of a green moun­tain, the site allo­ws to crea­te a land­mark for the enti­re town.

COM­PLEX EXPECTATIONS:
• Com­po­sed of belie­vers from dif­fe­rent deno­mi­na­tions the young con­gre­ga­tion was expe­rien­cing uncer­tain­ty with regards to litur­gi­cal and sym­bo­lic tra­di­tions. The new sanc­tua­ry was hoped to brid­ge gaps and esta­blish unity.
• In a broa­der sen­se the con­gre­ga­tion wished to crea­te an inclu­si­ve sym­bol for a new begin­ning – for in this new city both Chri­stians and non-Chri­­stians share the expe­rien­ce of being far from home and having to esta­blish new bonds.
• The pro­gram was com­pri­sed of the sanc­tua­ry and of a long list of secu­lar com­mu­ni­ty spaces. 

ARCHE­TY­PAL CHURCH: Aware of the ecu­me­ni­cal dilem­ma we sear­ched for arche­ty­pal motifs as gui­ding light for archi­tec­tu­ral deci­sions. After deep thought an elder quo­ted: “You are Peter, I will build my church on this rock.” His wife added: “In Julong we are all forei­gn. We wish to be an ark for arri­vers, their haven.” 

FUNC­TIO­NA­LI­TY + ICO­NI­CI­TY: The church as an ark – floa­ting abo­ve the world, ancho­red in the foun­da­tion of faith – an ancient idea. Moved by the ima­ge­ry, alert of the task, our solu­tion com­pri­ses two parts: The lower por­tion, clad in gra­ni­te, resem­bles a ter­ra­ced rock. It ena­bles fle­xi­ble sub­di­vi­sion, cate­ring to secu­lar needs. Atop rests the nave, ador­ned with GRC panels, evo­king an abstrac­ted ark. Its form steers clear of lite­ra­li­ty and gives a nuan­ced repre­sen­ta­tion of the narrative.

PER­FOR­MA­TI­VI­TY + LITUR­GY: The desi­gn eli­ci­ts phy­si­cal and spi­ri­tual enga­ge­ment. Like a pil­gri­ma­ge belie­vers ascend the ter­ra­ces for wor­ship. At the top they are embra­ced by the Para­di­se – a medie­val ele­ment demar­ca­ting a church´s asy­lum; it pre­pa­res for the entry into the bel­ly of the ark. Con­tra­ry to what the meta­phor sug­gests, the sanc­tua­ry is not unworld­ly: upon ente­ring, one expe­rien­ces com­ple­te expo­su­re to the moun­tain. Crea­tion beco­mes part of litur­gy, echoing the arche­ty­pal sce­ne of con­gre­ga­tion prior to all schi­sm: Christ´s Ser­mon on the Mount.

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