Sacred urban oasis opened to the public - The evaluation of the cloister form in contemporary sacral architecture

Vukoszávlyev, Zorán (2013) Sacred urban oasis opened to the public - The evaluation of the cloister form in contemporary sacral architecture. In: LA CHIESA NELLA CITTA' A 50 ANNI DAL CONCILIO VATICANO II, 2014.03.13-2014.03.15., Bologna. (In Press)

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Abstract

A delineated physical space provides security to the people. Church is a calm space where, excluding the outside world, we can meet God. Already at the dawn of the formation of Christianity, other transitional spaces have been attached to this sacral place, which spaces prepared man for entering the main contemplation space under protection, excluding the disturbing factors of the outside world – in the Middle Ages the cloister form was developed which provided the physical spaces of a complete lifestyle for the most dedicated, the monks. Due to the heterogeneous cultural and social environment of our world today, several Christian community buildings in the cities apply cloister-form again. The form, which symbolizes belonging together, includes lot of features: besides the church itself, it contains community spaces with different sizes in order to reach the people with evangelization on several levels. The spirit of charity was widened at the turn of the millennium, people need to be addressed on multilevel. For this purpose, the most perfect form is the sample of a cloister, which finds its roles in specific urban environments too. On one hand, its compact world is not showy or obtrusive, which feature is very important in the light of current social expectations – at the same time its inner court creates such an open connection place through which one can get insight into the life of a community. Therefore, the spirit of inclusion has applied this form again, giving the opportunity to experience Christianity on multiple levels, from direct physical connection to the most secret mysteries. It stays in the background reserved but it is genially open at the same time. Contemporary urban cloister is a spiritual island we can either pass through or get stuck there. In this presentation we briefly review the complex functional demands which emerged as a need in case of constructing urban parochial centers. In favor of the unity of the cultural pattern, we analyze European examples with focus on recent urbanization challenges. Besides the forward-looking examples of Western and Southern Europe, we outline especially the solutions applied in post-socialist countries because of their different socio-political aspects.

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