Presentation Scripting

Koinoniac Church in Corviale

A church structure was essentially as ‘a shelter for an altar’.

However, a house of worship is not a shelter for an altar. It is shelter for people.

It is not the table that makes a sacrament. It is the people and what they do. The things are adjuncts, conveniences, symbols, utensils. The presence of God is not assured by things or by symbols or by buildings, but by Christian people, Koinos.

It is true that that down through the century’s church buildings have not been consistently seen as exclusively places of worship. Church buildings have been multi-purpose buildings, houses for the people, used for variety of public and secular events and activities that nourish the human and secular life.    

The social implication of the gospel have had their influence in the programs of parish activities, and therefore on buildings. The extension of the plant to include facilities not only for worship and teaching but for social, recreational, and even athletic activities indicates that church members are more and more seeing the Christian role as the role of Koinonia.

The essential meaning of the Koinonia embraces concepts conveyed in the English terms fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, sharing and intimacy. By extension, Koinonia refers to the share one has in a joint venture or relationship. Koinonia can therefore refer in some contexts to a jointly contributed gift or in other contexts to the offering of one’s hand as a pledge of fellowship. In this manner, fellowship is never passive in the meaning of Koinonia, it is always linked to action, not just being together, but also doing together.

If we are to carry the logic of the Koinoniac church to its undeniable end, we must proceed even further. Christians are called to be the men for others. The structures should not be built unless they are directed to the service of the community of people around them and become a means for the Christian community to provide as effectively as possible not only for its own needs, but for the needs of the community.

Many beautiful churches in Rome, regarding every elements integrated inside of church were ICONIC masterpieces. If we assuming that church building is the tools which make minister possible is the truth, it seems that Iconic churches become Monumental masterpiece due to lose of their main role, ministry in these days. Contained Icons are no longer engaging the present languages of living world.

Corviale, which is outskirt of west Rome, we can see the great failure of result out of architectural Utopianism. Corviale containing approximately 6,000 people, more than 30% of residents are currently not educating and unemployed. 1 Km long Corviale block designed to integrated most of programmes inside, which prevent them to come out of the block.

Idea of Koinoniac church would be 24 hours event church, containing the present language for now a day’s life.  In short, the new church should transform into new form, by considering the fact that new form of church organising functional activities within the space for Corviale people.

These programmes are interlocking to each other and happening simultaneously. Bring Corviale residents out for Koinonia by using cultural device, which attach next to Corviale. It is not a temporary countermeasure which forces them to forget their current situation, or escape from but becoming a gateway allows them to step out and move onto better status for their own individual lives, through using new landmark in Corviale.

In order to achieve my intention of the Koinoniac Church these three Enablers are essential.

Circulation

Paths (come from concept of binding curves) which are interweaving into the main space, it binds together and intersecting each other within several radical spatial principles and generates a main church space as a result. People can approach the church very easily through taking paths, and it leads them to enter and experience sequential spaces with different views through following path and participate from main service to the local services, by entering balconies. So that Koinoniac church allows people to be participators rather than spectators.

Materiality

Koinonia Church is always contrasted materials by in and outside, in terms of ‘rapidness verse slowness’ and ‘smoothness verse roughness’ through material articulation, which allow people to experience different velocity throughout sequential movement in and out.   

Out_side materials, Stadium like as such concrete / steel / matt surface, materials of rapidness and roughness.

In_side materials, church like as such copper panels / coloured glossy, materials of slowness and smoothness.

Structure

Structurally, all the balconies hanging and canter livered from the paths, but at the same time, all the functional aspect is integrated into the building skin; lighting, pulpit, altar, and structurally supporting (homogenous surfaces).