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2016 MCHAP

Lutheran Evangelical Church

Oscar Borasino

Lima, Peru

May 2015

AUTOR PRINCIPAL

Oscar Borasino

AUTOR CONTRIBUYENTE

Alex Hudtwalcker Rey (Collaborator)

CLIENTE

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peru - Christuskirche

FOTÓGRAFO

Renzo Rebagliati Beltroy

OBJETIVO

The proposal is to insert in the area a sculptural volume that should be a visual reference for the neighborhood. This volumetric decision gives a scale hierarchy to the temple and bell tower which stands up high and ring the bells to call for service. The annexed areas of the program are included in a lower, horizontal and continuous volume that allows to emphasize the nave of the church as the protagonist. Another important decision to underline the presence and consistency of the major volume, is the strategy related to the choice of the materials: brick, stone, wood and concrete. The nave, basically a closed volume, is covered in brick. This material extends to the perimeter wall, allowing a monolithical perception of the building from the exterior. The rest of the project is designed with a more generic and urban criteria, mainly in concrete. The loggia surrounds the garden and gives access to the complementary service spaces. The interior nave space has a monolithic perception in the sense that we used only one material: wood. This single material allows the incoming light through a sophisticated system of openings, to be the protagonist and produce a mysthical atmosphere in the space. Its fenestrations in the east and west walls connect the parishioner with the heavenly and the earthly.

CONTEXTO

In 2010, the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Lima called for a competition for the design of its new temple. The former building, an emblematic project, by the Suisse architect Theodoro Cron, had not withstood in time the intense change in the surroundings of the previous location. The area had evolved from a quite residential area to a new financial center. The site is located on an anodyne housing suburb, next to a highway. The noisy location, gave us the challenge of solving a quiet, secluded space for prayer. The Lutheran community had the nostalgia for their former beloved brick church. Our task was to fullfil their expectations and meet the architectural standards of the latter.

ACTUACIÓN

The project proposal articulates the volumes around an open space, a garden that welcomes the community and allows collective activities. The colonnade or loggia defines the inner garden space and regulates the distance and the relationship of the complementary activities with the ritual performance of the nave. The Lutheran Church has been integrated into the urban fabric of its surroundings naturally, while still standing out as a landmark. The Lutheran community in Lima has embraced it with the same enthusiasm with which the former building was inhabited, and it is now a point of great activity and assembly.

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