Rome: White concrete "sails" soar into a Roman neighborhood
As if anyone would need an excuse to go to
Rome…here’s another. This Sunday, October 26th, marks the much
anticipated opening of the Jubilee Church (Dio Padre Misericordioso),
designed by Richard Meier & Partners. The church is already an iconic
landmark of contemporary architecture in one of the world’s most historic
cities, and it is sure to establish a new paradigm for international church
design.
is Meier’s third ecclesiastical
building, after the Crystal Cathedral’s International Center for Possibility
Thinking in Garden Grove, California (2003), and the Hartford Seminary in
Hartford, Connecticut (1981). The project began in 1995 as an invited
competition that included Tadao Ando, Günter Behnisch, Santiago Calatrava,
Peter Eisenman, and Frank Gehry. Meier was awarded the commission in 1996, and
construction began in 1998. It is the 50th new church and
community center built throughout the suburbs of Rome, with 15 more planned for
completion.
The church sits on a flat, triangular site in
Tor Tre Teste (named for a bas relief of three heads carved in a medieval guard
tower dating back to the 4th Century) about six miles east of
central Rome. It is adjacent to a lower/middle-income housing complex built in
the 1970s on the boundary of a public park.
The western side of the church site is laid out
as two courts separated by a paved causeway running east/west between the
community center to the north and the church to the south. The northern most
court adjacent to the center has a recreational garden. The second court
features a reflecting pool and is intended as a meditation space.
The four-level community center functions as a
key gathering place for social, educational, and recreational activities. A
paved pedestrian approach or sagrato(churchyard) on the east, near
the center of the adjacent Tor Tre Teste housing project, encourages
parishioners to gather in the piazza as was done in thesagrati of
medieval Italy.
Richard Meier: Light is the protagonist of our understanding and reading of
space. Light is the means by which we are able to experience what we call
sacred. Light is at the origins of this building. I am reminded of H.G.
Gadamer’s words in The Relevance of the Beautiful: “We only have to
think of certain expressions like the ‘play of light’ and the ‘play of the
waves’ where we have such a constant coming and going, back and forth, a
movement that is not tied down to any goal. That the sense of freedom and
movement – both in human festivities, and also in natural phenomena as the play
of light – may be seen as fundamentally theological.”
.JPG)
If you visit Borromini’s church (Chiesa di S.
Ivo alla Sapienza), you will experience a glorious white interior filled with
light and magic. It is one of the great works of architecture of 16th century
Rome. Also, S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, also by Borromini, has a quite animated
interior.
In the Jubilee Church, the three concrete shells
define an enveloping atmosphere in which the light from the skylights above
creates a luminous spatial experience, and the rays of sunlight serve as a
mystic metaphor of the presence of God.
RM: When I began to think about this church, I thought about the
churches in which the presence of the sacred could be felt: Alvar Aalto’s
churches in Finland, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wayfairer’s Chapel in the United
States, along with the Chapel at Ronchamp and La Tourette by Le Corbusier came
to mind. These are contemporary churches that have impressed me most, and I
would say that what they all share is the importance of light.
.jpg)
RM: The Vicariato wanted the project to be exactly as presented in the
competition proposal without any changes whatsoever. An architect cannot ask
for more support than that. I was given complete freedom. However, it has the
traditional organization in relation to the altar and the chapel to the side.
The criticism could be made that it is too traditional in its organization.
RM: The white cement was originally invented for the Olympic Stadium in
Rome, designed by Pier Luigi Nervi. This material was suggested to me by Ing.
Gennaro Guala of Italcementi. It is a beautiful white concrete with a smooth
finish that resembles polished marble without veining. The engineering effort
involved in erecting the shells was Herculean, and Italcementi did a fantastic
job of realizing my design.
.jpg)
RM: I feel extremely proud. It is very clear that the Catholic Church
chose my design based on its merits, not because of a need to make a statement
in regard to their relationship to Jews throughout history. Three of the
architects in the competition were Jewish. They were chosen to compete because
they were among the top architects of our time. However, I think it is
important that there is communication and mutual admiration and respect between
members of all faiths. As the architect of this church, some might say that I
am, to some degree, a symbolic bridge between faiths.
I am a little older than I was last year, and my
experience has shown me that there is always someone who feels differently. The
true test is how people feel about being in the church, not how they react to
me, not whether the entrance is revised, or whether “Richard Meier is a Jew”,
but how it is received by those in the parish of Tor Tre Teste, and how it is
enjoyed by visitors that will come to experience it. Anything that makes a
statement is open to criticism.
Was there anything about creating this church
that surprised you?
.jpg)
RM: The Museum of the Ara Pacis is designed to house an ancient relic
and sacrificial altar, dating to 9 BC. The museum complex will contain public
exhibition areas and a small auditorium. It is located in the historic center
of Rome on the bank of the Tiber River in close proximity to the Ponte Cavour.
The start of construction was delayed when archaeological studies halted
excavation. The design of the foundation was revised to accommodate the
archaeological findings and construction is now back on track. The schedule for
construction prepared by the Comune di Roma currently reflects completion in
July 2004.
Client: Opera Romana per la Preservazione delle
fede e la Provvista di Nuove Chiese in Roma: Monsignor Luigi Moretti, Monsignor
Gino Amicarelli, Monsignor Ernesto Mandara, Ignazio Breccia-Fratadocchi (lead
contact)
Parish: Dio Padre Misericordioso, Don Gianfranco
Corbino (Parish Priest)
Consultants to Client: Francesco Garofalo,
Sharon Yoshie Miura, Antonio Maria Michetti, Pasquale D’Agostino, Caterina
Mongiardini, Leonardo Peri
Director of Works (Structure): M.S.C. Srl
Stone (Travertine): Carlo Mariotti & Figli
Srl
Stucco: MAPEI
As if anyone would need an excuse to go to
Rome…here’s another. This Sunday, October 26th, marks the much
anticipated opening of the Jubilee Church (Dio Padre Misericordioso),
designed by Richard Meier & Partners. The church is already an iconic
landmark of contemporary architecture in one of the world’s most historic
cities, and it is sure to establish a new paradigm for international church
design.
is Meier’s third ecclesiastical
building, after the Crystal Cathedral’s International Center for Possibility
Thinking in Garden Grove, California (2003), and the Hartford Seminary in
Hartford, Connecticut (1981). The project began in 1995 as an invited
competition that included Tadao Ando, Günter Behnisch, Santiago Calatrava,
Peter Eisenman, and Frank Gehry. Meier was awarded the commission in 1996, and
construction began in 1998. It is the 50th new church and
community center built throughout the suburbs of Rome, with 15 more planned for
completion.
The church sits on a flat, triangular site in
Tor Tre Teste (named for a bas relief of three heads carved in a medieval guard
tower dating back to the 4th Century) about six miles east of
central Rome. It is adjacent to a lower/middle-income housing complex built in
the 1970s on the boundary of a public park.
The 108,414 square-foot complex contains both a
church and a Community Center, connected by a four-story atrium. The project
features concrete, stucco, travertine, and glass. Three dramatic concrete
shells arc in graduated heights from 56 to 88 feet that bring to mind gliding
white sails. Glass ceilings and skylights in the church span the entire length of
the building filling the space with natural light. At night, light emanates
from within creating an ethereal presence and animating the landscape. The main
nave seats 240, and a day chapel seats 24.
The plan relates to the triangular site. The
sacred realm to the south, where the nave is located, is separated from the
secular precinct to the north; pedestrian approaches are from both the housing
complex to the east and the parking lot to the west.
The proportions of the complex are based on a
series of displaced squares and four circles. Three circles of equal radius
generate the profiles of the three shells that, together with the spine-wall,
make up the body of the church nave – and discretely imply the Holy Trinity.
The western side of the church site is laid out
as two courts separated by a paved causeway running east/west between the
community center to the north and the church to the south. The northern most
court adjacent to the center has a recreational garden. The second court
features a reflecting pool and is intended as a meditation space.
The four-level community center functions as a
key gathering place for social, educational, and recreational activities. A
paved pedestrian approach or sagrato(churchyard) on the east, near
the center of the adjacent Tor Tre Teste housing project, encourages
parishioners to gather in the piazza as was done in thesagrati of
medieval Italy.
“With the Jubilee Church, we have worked to
create a new Roman Catholic church for the 21st century – a
landmark that upholds and builds upon the city’s rich architectural tradition,”
says Richard Meier, FAIA. “I am honored to have this wonderful opportunity to
be a part of history and a partner in the Arch Diocese of Rome’s Jubilee
celebrations.”
This Sunday, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar
General, will consecrate the church, named Dio Padre Misericordioso (God our
Merciful Father) by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, on the occasion of his 25th anniversary
as Pontiff.
Q&A
with Richard Meier
The goal of most religious architecture is to
convey spiritual power. How does your design convey that kind of spirit?
Richard Meier: Light is the protagonist of our understanding and reading of
space. Light is the means by which we are able to experience what we call
sacred. Light is at the origins of this building. I am reminded of H.G.
Gadamer’s words in The Relevance of the Beautiful: “We only have to
think of certain expressions like the ‘play of light’ and the ‘play of the
waves’ where we have such a constant coming and going, back and forth, a
movement that is not tied down to any goal. That the sense of freedom and
movement – both in human festivities, and also in natural phenomena as the play
of light – may be seen as fundamentally theological.”.JPG)
If you visit Borromini’s church (Chiesa di S.
Ivo alla Sapienza), you will experience a glorious white interior filled with
light and magic. It is one of the great works of architecture of 16th century
Rome. Also, S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, also by Borromini, has a quite animated
interior.
In the Jubilee Church, the three concrete shells
define an enveloping atmosphere in which the light from the skylights above
creates a luminous spatial experience, and the rays of sunlight serve as a
mystic metaphor of the presence of God.
The Jubilee Church is not a traditional church.
If the Vicariato wanted a traditional church, they would not have invited me to
participate in the competition. This church was always intended to be a work of
contemporary architecture, meaningful for our time and one that is marked by
openness. Transparency and light cascade down from the skylit roof, literally
invading the interior of the church and also penetrating from below through a
narrow slot opened at floor level. People in the atrium are enveloped with
mystical light.
Which churches inspired you?
RM: When I began to think about this church, I thought about the
churches in which the presence of the sacred could be felt: Alvar Aalto’s
churches in Finland, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wayfairer’s Chapel in the United
States, along with the Chapel at Ronchamp and La Tourette by Le Corbusier came
to mind. These are contemporary churches that have impressed me most, and I
would say that what they all share is the importance of light.
The Jubilee Church is situated in the outskirts
of Rome in Tor Tre Teste, a middle-income housing project built in the 1970’s.
How does this new church relate to that neighborhood?
RM: The purpose of this church is to weave an isolated residential
district back into the communal fabric of Rome. I hope we accomplished this
architecturally by creating a sense of appropriateness, flow, and movement
throughout the site. The Jubilee Church and Community Center will provide the
more than 8,000 residents of the immediate area a space for ritual, play, and
celebration. Hopefully, the more than 25,000 residents of the larger area of
Tor Tre Teste will avail themselves of the church facilities as well. The
placement of the building in the area where apartment buildings fan out from the
main street of the complex creates an anchor for the area. As one approaches,
the lines of access are so visually clear that one is drawn directly into the
church.
How much freedom were you afforded in the
design? Was the Vatican a demanding client?
.jpg)
RM: The Vicariato wanted the project to be exactly as presented in the
competition proposal without any changes whatsoever. An architect cannot ask
for more support than that. I was given complete freedom. However, it has the
traditional organization in relation to the altar and the chapel to the side.
The criticism could be made that it is too traditional in its organization.
Is this the first time the concrete shell
material was used?
RM: The white cement was originally invented for the Olympic Stadium in
Rome, designed by Pier Luigi Nervi. This material was suggested to me by Ing.
Gennaro Guala of Italcementi. It is a beautiful white concrete with a smooth
finish that resembles polished marble without veining. The engineering effort
involved in erecting the shells was Herculean, and Italcementi did a fantastic
job of realizing my design.
You are the first Jewish architect in history to
design a church for the Roman Catholic Church. How do you feel about that?
.jpg)
RM: I feel extremely proud. It is very clear that the Catholic Church
chose my design based on its merits, not because of a need to make a statement
in regard to their relationship to Jews throughout history. Three of the
architects in the competition were Jewish. They were chosen to compete because
they were among the top architects of our time. However, I think it is
important that there is communication and mutual admiration and respect between
members of all faiths. As the architect of this church, some might say that I
am, to some degree, a symbolic bridge between faiths.
I am a little older than I was last year, and my
experience has shown me that there is always someone who feels differently. The
true test is how people feel about being in the church, not how they react to
me, not whether the entrance is revised, or whether “Richard Meier is a Jew”,
but how it is received by those in the parish of Tor Tre Teste, and how it is
enjoyed by visitors that will come to experience it. Anything that makes a
statement is open to criticism.
Was there anything about creating this church
that surprised you?
RM: I have worked in every country in Europe except Belgium and Italy,
so nothing surprises me.
Your second project in Rome is for one of the
city’s most important historic artifacts, the Ara Pacis. Could you tell us more
about this?
.jpg)
RM: The Museum of the Ara Pacis is designed to house an ancient relic
and sacrificial altar, dating to 9 BC. The museum complex will contain public
exhibition areas and a small auditorium. It is located in the historic center
of Rome on the bank of the Tiber River in close proximity to the Ponte Cavour.
The start of construction was delayed when archaeological studies halted
excavation. The design of the foundation was revised to accommodate the
archaeological findings and construction is now back on track. The schedule for
construction prepared by the Comune di Roma currently reflects completion in
July 2004.
Jubilee Church Credits
Client: Opera Romana per la Preservazione delle
fede e la Provvista di Nuove Chiese in Roma: Monsignor Luigi Moretti, Monsignor
Gino Amicarelli, Monsignor Ernesto Mandara, Ignazio Breccia-Fratadocchi (lead
contact)
DESIGN
PHASE
Architect: Richard Meier & Partners
Design Team: Richard Meier, FAIA, John Eisler,
Matteo Pericoli, Alfonso D’Onofrio
RM&P Rome: Nigel Ryan
Parish: Dio Padre Misericordioso, Don Gianfranco
Corbino (Parish Priest)
Consultants to Client: Francesco Garofalo,
Sharon Yoshie Miura, Antonio Maria Michetti, Pasquale D’Agostino, Caterina
Mongiardini, Leonardo Peri
Structural and Building Systems Consulting
Engineers: Arup; Guy Nordenson and Associates
Lighting Consultant: Fisher Marantz & Stone
CONSTRUCTION PHASE
General Director of Works: Ignazio Breccia
Fratadocchi
Director of Works (Structure): M.S.C. Srl
Technical Sponsor: Italcementi Gruppo
Site Supervisor: Studio Tecnici Michetti
Building Systems Engineer: Studio Tecnico
Dott. Ing. Luigi Dell’Aquila
Research and Materials Testing: Enel Hidro
Seismic Studies: Rita Pellegrine
Contractor: Lamaro Appalti Spa
Curtainwall and Skylight Contractor: Frener
& Reifer
Curtainwall and Skylight Suppliers: Schüco
International;
Pilkington
Stone (Travertine): Carlo Mariotti & Figli
Srl
Lighting:
Erco
Stucco: MAPEI
Door Hardware: Fusital for Valli & Valli
Church Pews: Caloi Industria
Srl
Organ: Organaria Romana
Acoustics: Bose Spa; Harmonia
Precious Metals Designer: Bulgari
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