Site: La
Vang is a small area located in Quang Tri, a province in central Vietnam. Quang
Tri bears the harshest weather in Vietnam with hot and dry wind from the west
and storms from the East Sea. Besides, since the whole province was the buffer
zone where Vietnam was split into two parts during the Vietnam War, it was the
most damaged place to suffer from the fierce front.
The Story: There
was a story about the apparitions of Mother Mary at this place 200 years ago to
save Vietnamese Christians when they were chased and executed by the governor. Eventually,
the place was acclaimed to be the Holy Land and its church was raised to be one
of the five Cathedral Basilicas of Vietnam in 1961 before it was damaged by the
war.
Request: The
task is to design a pilgrimage center that includes a plaza for 100.000 people,
a 5000-seat cathedral basilica, a 3000-seat conference hall, an international
conference center, a meditation center, a gallery, an administration building
and some other buildings serving the pilgrims whose number is predicted to rise
up to one million in each triennial pilgrimage season (the record number of the
last season was nearly six hundred thousand).
The client wanted
to develop the area within two decades and asked for a layout that would allow
an easy development taking place in the future. The Cathedral Basilica which is
the most important building will be designed and constructed in the first phase.
Furthermore, the ruin bell-tower, the holy well and the concrete banyan tree marks
the apparition place will be preserved and restored as a lively remnant of the
apparition of the Holy Mary in La Vang and the seed of hope She has planted in
the pilgrims’ soul.
Program: When
thinking about spaces of religious worship, we usually imagine spaces rich in
icons and ornamentation. Also, the traditional spaces of Catholicism worship
are tendentiously separate from the outside to maintain a solemn environment
for the rites.
On
the contrary, the large pilgrimages always contain the atmosphere of the crowds
which are continuously changing and easily render into negation. The consequent
results are the chaotic atmosphere and spaces for daily needs of the pilgrims.
However, the crowds are always open, welcome and absorbent.
Two
action programs, two contrary characteristic spaces need to be unified and
absorb each other.
Solution: The
main concept is to re-create the original woods where the Holy Mary appeared.
The Cathedral is also conceived as an artificial wood. This original concept of
the wood aims to create an uninterrupted and undirected space that allows
people to draw their own paths within the Only Path of the Faith.
The cathedral is an
open structure that helps render the solemn atmosphere inside to outside and
render people from outside to inside. At this point, the elements of
traditional architecture, roofs, columns and verandas can make it possible. No
traditional image, ornament or technique is kept in this design except these
three fundamental elements which maintain not only the basic need of cover and
protection but also provide a soft cover allowing absorbance between inside and
outside. This kind of traditional structure keeps everything both open and
close, improves the micro-climate inside and helps save energy.
The wood,
especially the entrance garden, simultaneously plays a role as a memorial
without any monument. This spatial memorial does not introduce the pilgrims any
pre-organized path but leaves them undirected. Thus this experience of getting
through a wood mentally and physically reminds the pilgrims their ancestor who
lived and died bravely to protect their Faith. Yet the vision of the Tower of
Light (the bell-tower) which represents Jesus Christ gives them the only visual
direction to follow.
The project is
conceived and designed with an attempt to reduce the feeling of icons as much
as possible. Individuals who use the buildings and enjoy the landscape are leave
to be free to make spaces their own place and easily make connection to themselves,
to others, to the buildings, to nature and to the Eternal. Architecture becomes
intermediate.Online article on winning projects for reference: http://dcctvnnet.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/cu%E1%BB%99c-thi-ph%C6%B0%C6%A1ng-an-thi%E1%BA%BFt-k%E1%BA%BF-trung-tam-thanh-m%E1%BA%ABu-la-vang-da-co-k%E1%BA%BFt-qu%E1%BA%A3/