A product of contextual conditioning with breaking the monotony, the San Juan Bhavan Chapel is designed as a dialogue between the physical and spiritual realms. Situated amidst the thick green cover of 7.63 acres in Unichira-Ernakulam, the Chapel is proposed as a buffer for the existing building complex. The 4420 sq. ft structure with exposed brick walls is a raw and pure expression of the spiritual ideologies and principles.
Set in the middle of the plot with lush green vegetation, the structure is accessed from roads on both northern and eastern sides. The existing complex consists of a seminary with residential units, a common dining hall, a congregation space and an outdoor basketball court. The large parking space upfront and the road leading to it in the northside considerably affects the privacy of residents within the complex. The design is proposed as a logical and functional solution to the privacy concerns raised on site.
"With the existing privacy constraints, our idea was to introduce the Chapel as a shield between the existing structure and the public"- says Ar. Sebastian, our principal architect.
Proposed as a contemporary congregational space, adorned with light, the design aims to transform the traditional architectural vocabulary of the liturgical space with the introduction of natural light, minimal colours and material textures.
The volume adapts to the shape of the path surrounding it, conforming to the linearity of the existing spaces retaining the vegetation on site. Thus, the Chapel is projected outwards as a rectangular space curved along the west and connected to the existing structure through a private corridor. The protruded curve with exposed brick facade with louvres and jaalis along the walls is designed as a celebration of the exterior mass. It breaks the rigidity of the existing complex and brings in the sense of movement and direction to the entire structure along with offering visual balance and continuity.
With the introduction of a double-height wall in the northern side conforming to the height of the adjacent structure, the built envelope is designed to seamlessly merge the structure with its surroundings. As it progresses towards the south, the envelope gradually narrows down from the double-height in the north along the curved wall. The southern façade with the Jali walls is designed to act as a visual barrier restricting the views to private block within the complex.
With a combination of trusses with northern lights and sandwich panels, the roof rests between the higher north wall and the lower south wall. With the clerestory to tap in the north lighting, the sloping roof considerably scales down the interior volume. The existing design elements like jalis walls and louvres and features like roofing and height of the structure together manage the acoustics of the space without the assistance of any additional controlling points within the interiors.
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