Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Architects have completed a church in Foligno, Italy.
The new building will be opened on Friday.
Photographs by Moreno Maggi.
Here’s some more information from Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Architects:
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Friday 24 April at 11 a.m. will be presented the new Church in Foligno, based on plans by Architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas.
The project was won in 2001 after a national competition organized by the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana for the construction of new churches, the jury gave the following reasons for choosing, “as a sign of innovation that meets the latest international research, becoming a symbol of rebirth for the city after the earthquake. ”
The new parish designed by Fuksas Architects, is a monolith of pure geometry, absolute, in a tin box. There are two main architectural elements that are identified with the functions of the religious center, the first element, the Church building, consists of two rectangules inserted into one another, the second element, also rectangular shape but long and low, is home to the Sacristy, the Pastoral Ministry of Local and Casa Canonica. A third an architectural element, smaller, combining the latter two. Spirituality and meditation joined together in a play of natural light entering horizontally and vertically, drawing a dialogue with the sky.
“The suspension of a volume within another. Seeing through concrete heaven, from outside, to inside, to outside. Massimiliano Fuksas
Enzo Cucchi, prepared for the outside of the church sculpture “Stele-Cross” in cement and white marble from Carrara. A tall totem 13.50 meter itself becomes architectural element. Mimmo Paladino created the 14 Stations of the Cross and Fuksas Design designed furniture and
lighting.
At the presentation of the Church, on the initiative and the City and Diocese of Foligno, and the organization of OICOS REFLECTIONS, will be held on April 24-26, 2009, the event “In the sacred architecture – Three days with the architecture of Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas “.
CHIESA DI FOLIGNO
Luogo/ Site: Foligno, Italia
Data/ Date: 2001-2009
Committente/ Client: Conferenza Episcopale Italiana – Diocesi di Foligno
Progetto/ Project : Massimiliano e Doriana Fuksas
Lotto d’intervento/ Total area: mq 20690
Edificio Chiesa/ Building area: mq 610
Complesso parrocchiale / Parish complex: mq 1300
Strutture/Structure: Ing. Gilberto Sarti
Impianti/Service: A.I. Engineering
Interventi artistici / Artists: Enzo Cucchi, Mimmo Paladino
Impresa di costruzione / General contractor: Ediltecnica spa
Arredi sacri in pietra / Stone forniture FUKSAS DESIGN: Scalpellino Maurizio Volpi
Arredi in legno / Wood forniture FUKSAS DESIGN: Falegnameria Bertini
Corpi illuminanti /lighting FUKSAS DESIGN: Iguzzini illuminazione
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Posted by Rose Etherington
April 21st, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Amount of lights falles down from the ceiling lights is amazing.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Impressive !
April 21st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
nice enough, but not a particularly profound meditation on what a religious building should look like… i guess one needs to look at moneo for that.
the light effects come across as being way too decorative, and derivative at best..
that said. its still a very nice project.
April 21st, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I love the simple and powerful effect of the suspended box within a box inside.. all that blank concrete looks a bit bleak externally though.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Wow, stunning, would really like to see drawings of this. That exterior shot is fantastic.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:33 pm
The light is super,and the space has neat elements – but why is the outside so brutal?
April 21st, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Nice and Ronchampy interior.
April 21st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
As a building, I completely respect the design principles at work here. As a church, I feel this austere movement is not due to preference, rather we have somehow lost the talent and artisans capable of making truly beautiful churches. It is much easier casting square concrete than hand carving wood. God must feel a sense of loss at churches like this. Tell me this inspires you closer to God than than the older cathedrals.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Yeah, just like a chandelier shop in heaven…
April 21st, 2009 at 9:55 pm
wow fuxas is the new ikea, congrat…
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:22 am
frickin brilliant!
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 am
actually eric…. have you ever cast concrete? its quite hard. that’s not to say its harder or less harder then wood (haha no pun). but a lot more goes into casting concrete than simply forming. you have to have the right mixture, color, board form, pouring alone is an art unless you want air bubbles, the list can go on…
also I don’t believe god cares where you pray. but so much that your praying. that would be like saying if you pray in a cardboard box god looks down on you.
whether a person feels like their in “gods house” i don’t know i think that can only be experience in person. It does have a clean and refreshed feeling sure beats mega churches…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
James,
[I'm gonna try my best to speak english correctly, it's not my original language]
The question is not about “praying god”. This is a catholic church, this is not just “a place to pray”. A catholic church is a place of worship, there’s an altar, on which is celebrated the sacrifice of Christ. One of the big things in catholicism is about Incarnation. And modern churches like this one are des-incarnated places, they’re abstract spaces, they’re empty, they erase all representation of Jesus, of the Saints, any figuration is bannished,… Come on, this is not a protestant place or a deist temple ! This is not a zen house ! What do we believe in ? That God is minimalist ?
Architecturally speaking it can be really beautiful, I admit some modern churches have a really beautiful design, but that’s because I have an architectural education. Well, actually I never found any spirituality in those places. I never met the Mystery of the Incarnation. I never found any love for life.
I only saw photogenic constructions.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
reminds me of ADOLF HITLER’S BUNKER IN THE WOLF’S LEIR..
heil hitler!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
Great entry Fromageplus ! The best comment on contemporary Church Design i`ve read in a long time. Places like the one by Fuksas rather remind me of sex cabins for architects to wank off, than spiritual places for the public ! And James stop making things more complicated than they actually are, of course you can gather with some swiss dudes and look at the beauty of a concrete wall for 3 hours, philosophying about the amount of bubbles per sqm . But i`d rather look at a beatiful female, or a boroque church for that matter, and admire god for creating them.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 am
Cool! A 2D building! It’s merely a cartoon/cenary if it only has 1 elevation!
Or does it have more that are not so well though of…………..
Suspense…
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 am
Wow!! It’s a fantastic disco-church!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Thanks, King.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
really really love it! amazing
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Although it is a nice piece of architecture, it’s not a place i would like to go and find some inner piece… maybe i am too used to christian orthodox churches but i’d rather keep what’s been done by now instead of interpreting everything in a brand new but far from God way… i hope i didn’t offend nobody but i find this place baren… there is no spirituality, just concrete and forms.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Just amazing…
I wish I was a believer!
Great, congratulations!
April 27th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I love love love it!!!!
April 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I think its nice to have tried to shift the typology of a catholic church, but for me personally it is a failer- as its a shift to a museum (Libeskind) topology…. kind of oppressive rather than uplifting.
Image 2, of out side is disgusting, who would be inspired walking towards a massive concrete wall, i want to tear it down.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
why do people insist on sending in comments like ‘I love love love it!!!!’? no ones interested. what’s good is a bit of debate about what people think is good and bad, not just sycophantic whining about things being ‘great’ ‘amazing’ blah blah blah. i think it’s got a beautiful simplicity internally that would help you commune with your god but keeps it selfishly hidden giving the rest of the world a bleak facade. this is where traditional churches and cathedrals can blow you away and draw you in by the amazing facades as well as the amazing interiors
May 1st, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Well, if churches were always built in concrete, say from the 8-9th centuries onwards, worshippers wouldn’t have ever looked for stained glass, baroque, gothic or other architectural elements in it – they would have simply appropriated the blank, clean and “minimalist” space as a place to commune with God and exulted in the beauty of the “concrete” church. So, given enough time, children and youngsters of this generation who are used to seeing all glass and steel structures, but still want to have a place to “talk to God”, will feel much more at home in a realistic, down to earth concrete-building like structure, such as this church – rather than a soaring to the sky, heavily-adorned decorative church.
What I am a bit curious to know is if the guys at deMassimiliano e Doriana Fuksas are a religious lot or otherwise? Did spirituality inspire them towards austerity or was it a post-modern sensibility at work?
Talking about soaring spires, how about this Rem Koolhaas structure, bang in the jungle of corporatehood? http://blog.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/widn_blog/archives/2009/03/rem_koolhaas_an.html