10세기에 건축된 로마네스크 양식의 원형 교회를 디자인 모티브로 삼고 설계된 이 건물은 원통형의 부피를 만들기 위해 철근 콘크리트를 사용하였고 콘크리트 표면은 엷은 석고로 코팅하여 선형의 브러시 자국이 각인되어 있다.
벽 창문을 통해 부드럽게 필터링된 빛이 내부 벽면으로 들어와 음영을 만들며, 이 건물 꼭대기에는 종으로 꾸며진 골방의 입구가 보인다.
Windows appear to have been carved out of the curving walls of this cylindrical church in the Czech Republic, designed by Brno-based studio Atelier Štěpán.
Atelier Štěpán designed the Church of St Wenceslas for Sazovice, a village in the Zlín Region that had wanted a new church since before the second world war.
Architect: Marek Jan Štěpán / Atelier Štěpán
Project team: František Brychta, Jan Martínek, Tomáš Jurák, Jan Vodička, Hana Kristková
Contractor: Stavad Sro
Drawings: Vladimír Kokolia
The studio based its design on the circular Romanesque churches built in the 10th century, often called rotundas. In particular, the team focused on a building that Bohemian duke Saint Wenceslas built in Prague, which was later incorporated into the city's St Vitrius cathedral.
Reinforced concrete was used to create the cylindrical volume. The concrete surfaces are coated in pale plaster, which is imprinted with linear brush marks.
Scoops in the walls contain window, allowing light to gently filter in and create a gradient of shadow on the interior walls. There is also an opening at the top of the building, which provides an alcove for a grid of church bells.
"When you observe the volume, you feel the lightness made by the design principle of tapering the walls into tiny lines. It's like cutting a paper cylinder and exploring its possibilities," said architect Marek Jan Štěpán.
"I created the windows by pushing and pulling the cuts, and letting the light glide softly on the walls."
The Church of St Wenceslas occupies a sloping site, which made it possible for the design team to create paved yards on different ground levels. These are linked by a curved pathway on the exterior.
On the top level, one of the walls curls open to reveal the tall main entrance, which leads into the three-storey-high worship space.
from dezeen