Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara is a Roman Catholic Church Complex. Saint Barbara is the patron Saint of the Architect.
A Respect for and Understanding of History
The Church of Saint Barbara is a metaphor for a fenced grove of trees that the ancient Greeks used as their temples before they began ‘constructing’ marble edifices. It is composed of two elements: a fence and trees. The tree is abstracted into columns that branch to form the roof. The fence is abstracted into walls that house support functions. Independent elements comprise a single structure.
The Meaning of light
From east to west, Saint Barbara is ordered with respect to the path of the sun and symbolizes the daily and life cycles of the human being – birth (baptismal chapel), life (the sanctuary), death (the outdoor funeral chapel).
Planning for Meaning
To further the metaphor of the church as a grove of trees and extend the order of the building, the grid that orders the church is extended into the landscape to organize plantings surrounding the church. The abstracted trees inside become part of the same ‘grove’ as the trees in the precinct around the church. The intervention of the walls – or ‘fence’ – separate the trees outside from those inside.
Planting in the landscape relates to its position on the site.
Light of the Spirit - By day, from above… At night from below.
By day, light from above illuminates the sanctuary… at night, ‘camp fire’ lights reach towards the heavens.
Saint Barbara - A Roman Catholic Church - Gallery
A Concept can convey a beautiful work of Architecture.
