Inbo Catholic Church

Inbo Catholic Church

Archigroup MA

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

ARCHITECTS
Archigroup Ma

STRUCTURE ENGINEER
Hi Structural Engineers

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Yoo Byungan

CONSTRUCTION
Cheonyoung Construction, Archigroup Ma

MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Mido Technology Office

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Kukdong Munhwa Engineering Consultant

PHOTOGRAPHS
Yoon, Joonhwan

AREA
424 M²

YEAR
2013

LOCATION
Ulsan, South Korea

CATEGORY
Religious Architecture, Churches

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

Text description provided by architect.

The Inbo Catholic Church is located in the centre of a small town surrounded by mountains. A priest's room, the church, and an office are located in ground floor, and the service facilities are located underground.

The segmented volumes of the church, separated by functions, are in harmony with the small scale of the rural town.

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan
Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

The steep roof of the church harmonizes with surrounded mountains to become the symbolic center of the village.

The spacious exterior between volumes is accessible from anywhere as a common open yard for the village.

It provides spatial interest and a sense of continuity with stairs, ramps and walls. The church despite its small size resembles a small town and its alleyways.

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan
Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

A high proportion of parishioners, spatial demands and a limited budget were key elements to decide the form, composition of space and materials.

Considering the usage of stairs by the elderly, the church is set half-level up from the yard, and the hall, the classroom, and toilets are set half-level down.

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan
Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

Exterior walls and the roof of the church with chipped concrete finish give the impression of rough stone. Simply formed spaces show moderate finishes and materials due to the low budget, but the humble simplicity has permanency as other religious constructions.

Intention of making a sacred space for prayers is shown in the bright white space right through to the empty framed cross at the moment of entering.

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan
Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan

The spatial layout of the church conforms with the early church architecture. The position and access to the choir loft are derived from the construction of the Gothic Church.

The existing priest's room is renovated as an office of the church, which links the new church and the village buildings harmoniously. The maintenance of the existing priest's room was controversial during the construction process.

Inbo Catholic Church
© Yoon, Joonhwan
Inbo Catholic Church
Basement Floor Plan

It was decided to keep it with the existing rusty bell tower inside a new concrete structure to evoke the old. Parts of the wood flooring from the old community building were sorted and reused for the walls of the confessional of the new church.

By this, the architect expresses his values that space should reflect the site's memories and its people's stories, and that architecture should not be a process of demolishing the old to make way for the new.

Inbo Catholic Church
First Floor Plan
Inbo Catholic Church
Second Floor Plan

The priest's room was positioned for easy access to the church, and the space was laid out for its practical use. A small yard and a balcony of the first floor together creates an open space for the priest away from onlookers.

The space of the ground floor is planned as a kitchen and a sitting room, and the space of the first floor is planned as a priest's own space and a study. Today, Megachurches, enormous catholic churches, ultramodern Buddhist temples are rampant. The Inbo Catholic Church is designed to be faithful to its proper function.

Inbo Catholic Church
Section
Inbo Catholic Church
Site Plan

It is the architect's sincere desire for this small church to be in harmony with the old and the new, and to become an interactive space for the community of the village.