Mary Immaculate Parish Hall
MARY IMMACULATE PARISH HALL
Equipo Olivares Arquitecto
LOCATION
Spain
PHOTOGRAPHS
José Oller, Cortesia de Equipo Olivares Arquitectos
The idea consisted to build the Parish Hall as a future underground Temple. So the building is constructed based on several aspects:
The very nature of a building intended for worship, raised the need to get spaces for contemplation and meditation.
For this, the Parish Hall turns to the interior gardens, isolated from the outside by cyclopean concrete walls and reinforced concrete. The closings are understood as light screens.
We understood the Parish Hall as a shell enclosing a large interior space. And so, the outside is hard and tough while the interior is bright (the presence of daylight), aromatic (an orange garden), mystery (the staircase behind the white walls) and pragmatic (clearly arranged spaces).
The parish hall is accessed via a patio and behind it you can access a gallery. At the back, you can find another patio that is filled with climbing plants and offers a green background to the multiple rooms.
We understood the Parish Hall as a flexible surface adaptable for different uses.
A fixed block at the entrance (lined with timber) contains the pastor's office, toilets and service area. Walls separate the rest of the place.
We understood the Parish Hall from materials that could be adapted over time. The concrete will have to endure winters, the orange trees will provide color, the walls will be like stained glass toward the street, and the wood will contribute with its warmth.
