SAcnzo

An Lxamination o the 1hreshold

in a Catholic Church
or lispanic Immigrants
THnzsHoLo
by Paul Vincent Gonzaga
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Vir ginia Polytechnic In-
stitute and State Univer sity in par tial fulfillment of the r e-
quir ements for
the degr ee of
Master o Architecture
appr oved:
Susan Piedmont-Palladino, chair per son
Er ic J. Jenkins
Mar ia Kar vouni
May 1998
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tbe Otber.
Albert Rouet, Liturgy and the Arts
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tbe paraaoica pace rbere tbo.e rora. covvvvicate, rbere pa..age frov
tbe profave to tbe .acrea rora becove. po..ibe.
Mircea Lliade, The Sacred and the Profane
The Book of Exodus in the Old Testament r ecounts the lib-
er ation and salvation of an oppr essed people and their sub-
sequent jour ney to and ar r ival at the Pr omised Land. In the
Chr istian Chur ch, this jour ney continues in the lives of be-
liever s. The spir itual jour ney begins with salvation, contin-
ues with a r epeated pr ocess of suffer ing and r edemption,
and ter minates with an awakening to a better under stand-
ing of God.
The spir itual jour ney made concr ete is the concer n of
this pr oject. The Chr istian life, gr ossly simplified, is a pas-
sage fr om one place to another. The believer is constantly
passing thr ough the thr eshold fr om this life to the next, fr om
an old, limited under standing of the divine to a new under-
standing.
In the Catholic Chur ch, this pr ocess of passage is r itu-
alized in the jour ney of the believer to the chur ch each Sun-
day. Upon enter ing the chur ch building, the believer passes
fr om the secular and mundane to the sacr ed and holy.
Wher e does the secular end and the sacr ed begin? How
does one delimit a boundar y between the two? How does
one cr oss the thr eshold fr om the pr ofane to the sacr ed?
That is the focus of this pr oject.
ASTHACT
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iva of Cbvrcb ife, of covvov ife iv tbe oay of Cbri.t tbat ri be
ovr..
Louis Bouyer, Liturgy and Architecture
The tr ue Chr istian Chur ch is not a building. It is the com-
munity of believer s, or Body of Chr ist, gather ed to wor ship.
Achur ch building is for med by the beliefs and pr actices of
the community that inhabits it and inter acts with it. While
ther e ar e some r equir ements for a Catholic wor ship space,
its final for m should r eflect the community that utilizes it.
Cr eating a chur ch for a fictitious community is a daunt-
ing task. I would like to thank Rever end Andr ew Cifer ni, O.
Pr aem., for mer Dean of the Washington Theological Union
in Washington, D.C., for acting as my fictitious community.
He pr ovided me with gr acious cr iticism and dir ection, which
helped pr opel my Thesis for war d.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
acrea !bre.boa iii
ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
INTRODUCTION 1
SITE 2
THE WALL 3
THE PLAZA 8
THE CHURCH 13
CONCLUSION 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY 19
VITA 22
TALE OF CONTENTS
acrea !bre.boa ir
Is a Thr eshold simply what the Webster New River side dic-
tionar y defines as a piece of wood or stone placed beneath
a door ? Or is it something mor e? How does one enter a
building? Does one mer ely step acr oss a boundar y or
can the Thr eshold be a pr ocess or jour ney? The objective
of this pr oject is to addr ess these questions and, hopefully,
to ar r ive at a better under standing of the Thr eshold. This
thesis looks at the Thr esholds simplicity and complexity,
its pr ecision and ambiguity. It examines multiple Thr esh-
olds and layer ed Thr esholds. It examines the essential ele-
ments of the Thr eshold.
The vehicle for this pr oject is a Catholic Chur ch for
Hispanic Immigr ants, including a par ish hall and other sup-
por t spaces. A Chur ch was chosen because it r equir es a
special type of Thr eshold, one involving a tr ansition fr om
the secular wor ld to the sacr ed wor ld. The r ecently r evised
Catechism for the Catholic Chur ch emphasizes this unique-
ness:
...th e ch u r ch [ bu ildin g] h a s a n esch a tologica l sig-
n ifica n ce. To en ter in to th e h ou se of God, we m u st
cr oss a th r esh old, wh ich sim bolizes pa ssin g fr om th e
wor ld wou n ded by sin to th e wor ld of th e n ew Life to
wh ich a ll m en a r e ca lled. Th e visible ch u r ch is a
sym bol of th e Fa th ers h ou se towa rd wh ich th e People
of God is jou r n eyin g a n d wh er e th e Fa th er will wipe
ever y tea r fr om th eir eyes.
1
The Catholic Chur ch, as an institution, is also on a
jour ney of its own. It is still adapting to changes br ought
about by the Second Vatican Council. As if this wer ent
enough, its beliefs and pr actices continue to be questioned
and r eevaluated. The Catholic Chur ch is at the Thr eshold,
or is cr ossing a Thr eshold, into a new attitude about litur gy
and wor ship spaces. Wher e ther e was once a detachment
or distance between cler gy and laity dur ing the Mass, ther e
is now a call for gr eater unity and par ticipation. Ideas that
r emained accepted without question, such as the placement
of baptismal fonts within the chur ch sanctuar y, ar e being
r eevaluated to br ing mor e meaning into the layout of wor-
ship spaces. Within the Catholic Chur ch, ther e is a con-
stant move towar ds unity and a deeper under standing and
clear er communication of the symbols and r ites employed
in the litur gy.
The Catholic Chur ch in the United States is posed with
an additional dilemma: an incr eased influx of Hispanic
immigr ants. These immigr ants, although they ar e cur r ently
a minor ity, will dominate Amer ican Catholic par ishes by the
year 2010. To Hispanic immigr ants, Catholicism is not
mer ely a r eligion. It is par t of their cultur e and identity.
Often, these immigr ants ar e tr eated as second class citizens
within Catholic chur ches, r elegated to inconvienient mass
times in gymnasiums or wher ever a par ish can find space.
Ma n y time s , th e r e is a la c k o f s p a c e a n d fu n d in g to
accomodate a mass in Spanish.
This pr oject endeavor s to cr eate a Catholic wor ship
space and par ish hall for Hispanic Immigr ants. It would be
a p lace wh er e Hisp an ics co u ld ad ju st to th e Amer ican
lifestyle, and wher e Amer ican Catholics could lear n mor e
about Hispanic Cultur e. Spaces ar e pr ovided for teaching
English as a Second Language Classes. And r eligious and/
or cultur al festivals could be held in the par ish gather ing
hall or plaza. The Chur ch and par ish hall complex could
be seen as a cultur al Thr eshold, wher e passage fr om His-
panic to Amer ican and Amer ican to Hispanic is possible.
The pr oject consists of thr ee main elements: the Wall,
the Plaza and the Chur ch.
lNTHODUCTlON
1
Ca t e c h i s m o f t h e Ca t h o l i c
Ch u r c h ( Va t i c a n Ci t y: Li b r e r i a
Editr ice Va tica n a , 1994) 306.
acrea !bre.boa 1
The site for this pr oject is in Ar lington, Vir ginia. The site is
bound on the South by Wilson Boulevar d, and on the West
by Nor th Adams Str eet, near the Cour thouse Metr o Station.
Ar eas to the South, East and West of the site ar e slated for
dense ur ban development, while ar eas to the Nor th and
Nor thwest will r emain as subur ban neighbor hoods.
SlTE
fig. a fig. b
fig.a
fig. a: Wa sh in gton , D.C. Metr opoli-
ta n Ar ea .
fig. b: Ar l i n gt on Cou n t y, Cou r t -
h ou se Metr o Sta tion on th e Or a n ge
lin e is in dica ted.
fig. c: Str eet level m a p of of Cou r t-
h ou se Metr o Sta tion vicin ity. Site is
in dica ted in or a n ge.
fig. d: Site pla n for th esis pr oject,
with pr oposed bu ildou t of a r ea s to
th e sou th a n d west of th e pr oject site.
fig. c
acrea !bre.boa 2
THE WALL
The cr eation of a sacr ed space involves car eful contempla-
tion of issues that ar e both simple and complex. One must
under stand what makes a space sacr ed, as well as how sa-
cr ed space is separ ated fr om secular space.
Mir cea Eliade, in his book The Sacr ed and the Pr o-
fane, wr ites that sacr ed space is non-homogeneity within
h o m o ge n e i t y. I t i s i t s m e r e q u a l i t y o f b e i n g n o n -
h o mo ge n e o u s d iffe r e n t fr o m its su r r o u n d in gs th a t
makes it sacr ed. He wr ites, "For r eligious man, this spatial
non-homogeneity finds expr ession in the exper ience of an
opposition between space that is sacr ed the only r eal and
r eally existing space and all other space, the for mless ex-
panse sur r ounding it."
1
This idea of non-homogeneity within
homogeneity implies a boundar y. Somewher e between the
secular and the sacr ed, one ends and one begins.
Car lo Bor r omeo, in his Instructionesfabricaeet
supellectillis ecclesiasticae, d is c u s s e d r e gu la tio n s in
chur ch building. He says that, "[ i] nter fer ence caused by
noise fr om outside or by pr ofane activity should be avoided.
Hence a chur ch should be completely fr ee-standing and
separ ated by a few paces fr om other buildings."
2
Her e,
Bor r omeo emphasizes separ ation and distance. The chur ch
building should not be attached to sur r ounding buildings.
It should not be in ver y close pr oximity to other buildings.
These ideas of boundar y, separ ation and distance ar e
the genesis of the Wall in this pr oject. It sur r ounds the
complex of buildings, acting as a boundar y between the
chur ch complex and the adjoining ur ban and subur ban
envir onments. Objects within the pr ecinct of the Wall do
not touch the Wall. They stand at a distance fr om the Wall.
1
Mir cea Elia de, Th e Sa cr ed a n d
th e Profa n e: Th e Na tu re of Religion ,
tr a n s. Willa r d R. Tr a sk ( Sa n Diego:
Ha r cou r t Br a ce & Com pa n y, 1987)
2
Ca r lo Bor r om eo pa r a ph r a sed by
Ha n n o- Wa lter Kr u ft, AHistor y of Ar-
ch itectu r a l Th eor y: fr om Vitr u viu s
t o t h e P r e s e n t ( P r i n c e t o n , NJ:
Pr in ceton Ar ch itectu r a l Pr ess) 93- 4.
acrea !bre.boa 4
fig. a:Th e Wa ll r ises a t th e en tr a n ce
on Wilson Bou leva r d.
fig. b: Th e Wa ll r ises a ga in a t th e
e n t r a n c e t o t h e p r e c i n c t o f t h e
Ch u r ch Sa n ctu a r y.
fig. c: Gr ou n d Fl oor pl a n of t h e
com plex. Sca le a s n oted.
fig. c
fig. a fig. b
Par ish Hall
Plaza
Baptister y
Chur ch Sanctuar y
The Wall is not a closed boundar y. It wr aps within
itself, cr eating a sacr ed ar ea, within a space alr eady defined
as sacr ed. It cir cles ar ound the par ish hall, plaza, baptis-
ter y and chur ch, and then continues on to encir cle the
chur ch sanctuar y once mor e. It emphasizes that the chur ch
sanctuar y as the most impor tant element within this com-
plex. The wall r ises as one enter s the sacr ed pr ecinct of the
complex, and again as one enter s the even mor e sacr ed
zone of the chur ch sanctuar y.
As the Wall begins to wr ap within itself, an ambiguity
is cr eated between Inside and Outside. If the Wall wer e a
closed boundar y, the differ ence between Inside and Out-
side would be clear ly pr onounced. Her e, the distinction
between Inside and Outside is indeter minate. It is a pr o-
cess; while the state of being Inside incr eases the state of
being Outside decr eases, and vice ver sa. As one follows the
line of the Wall, one moves fr om being Outside to being
Inside/ Outside to a state of finally being Inside.
acrea !bre.boa 5
fig. a: Section th r ou gh Wa ll sh ow-
in g exter ior a n d in ter ior su r fa ces a s
well a s pa vin g below.
fig. b: En la r ged pla n of Ba ptister y,
sh owin g open in g in th e Wa ll. Note
h ow th e Wa ll cu rves a rou n d th e Ba p-
tister y.
fig. a
fig. b
The Wall accompanies this tr ansition between Inside
and Outside and the Sacr ed and the Pr ofane. It is a com-
panion and guide as one jour neys to the Sacr ed. The Wall
r eaches up and extends outwar d to pr ovide shelter for the
tr aveler. Wher e the Wall meets the gr ound, the pavement
changes, cr eating a zone of passage bound on thr ee sides.
One can enter and leave this sacr ed path along any point of
the jour ney.
The Wall has only one opening, at the Baptister y. The
Wall also gives way her e, abandoning its r ectilinear lan-
guage to accommodate the for m of the Baptister y. The Wall
is a boundar y between the sacr ed and the pr ofane. The
opening in the Wall at the Baptister y is a symbolic door,
wher e one symbolically enter s the assembly wher e one
becomes par t of the Body of Chr ist thr ough Baptism. And
the r ectilinear for m of the Wall becoming cur ved is sym-
bolic of a weakening of this boundar y.
acrea !bre.boa 6
fig. a: Typica l section th r ou gh Wa ll.
fig. b: Axon om etr ic deta il of typi-
ca l t ext i l e bl ock u sed i n t h e con -
str u ction of th e exter ior fa ce of th e
Wa ll.
fig. c: Pla n of Wa ll su r r ou n din g th e
ch u r ch sa n ctu a r y. Nich es for r elief
scu lptu r es for th e fou r teen Sta tion s
of th e Cr oss lin e th e in n er fa ce of
th e Wa ll. Th ey begin on th e West
a n gled wa ll, con tin u in g Nor th , Ea st,
So u t h , a n d t h e n e n d i n g o n t h e
cu r ved por t i on of t h e wa l l wh i ch
ben ds a r ou n d th e Ba ptister y.
fig. b
fig. a
fig. c
Having a twelve foot wall sur r ounding the complex
with only one opening poses a pr oblem. What does this
Wall have to offer the city? Should it just be a tall, blank
Wall? The outside face of the Wall is constr ucted of textile
blocks. The patter n on the block is an abstr acted diagr am
of the chur ch complex: Wall, Plaza and Sanctuar y. The
inside of the Wall is faced with r oman br ick. The textur e is
r efined, emphasizing a differ ence between the r oughness
of the exter ior of the Wall and the smooth inter ior.
The inter ior face of the Wall houses niches. A lar ge
niche is located behind the par ish hall, wher e a r elief sculp-
tur e of the Sacr ed Family ( to whom the Chur ch is dedi-
cated) is found. And four teen niches ar e found on the in-
side of the Wall that sur r ounds the Sanctuar y. These niches
contain r elief sculptur es of the four teen Stations of the Cr oss,
which follow the Passion and death of Chr ist. The final
station, Chr ist' s bur ial in the tomb, is located within the
Baptister y. Moder n Theologians ar gue that a fifteenth sta-
tion should be added to the Stations of the Cr oss: the Res-
ur r ection. The baptismal font acts as this fifteenth station,
r eminding believer s of the death and r esur r ection that they
shar e with Chr ist.
acrea !bre.boa
THE PLAZA
The Second Vatican Council called for a r eexamination of
chur ch histor y and tr adition, looking to the ear ly chur ch
for inspir ation. In his book, A Concise Histor y of the
Catholic Chur ch, Thomas Bokenkotter wr ites:
...t h e [ Secon d Va t i ca n ] Cou n ci l sh owed a m u ch
gr ea ter r ega r d for th e h istor ica l dim en sion in th e
Ch u r ch s fa ith a n d life. I n pla ce of th e n on h istor ica l
Sch ola stic th eology, with its em ph a sis on im m u ta ble
idea s a n d essen ces, wh ich sin ce th e da ys of Th om a s
Aqu in a s ch a r a cter ized Ca th olic th ou gh t, Va tica n I I
m a n ifested a n open n ess to th e tota lity of Ch r istia n
a n d h u m a n h istor y a n d fu lly r ecogn ized th e h istor i-
ca l con dition in g th a t h a s a ffected ever y a spect of its
tr a dition .
1
This new attitude of openness towar ds the chur chs histor y
allowed for an acceptance of the chur ch as a changing,
mutable body. The challenge of the chur ch today is to con-
tinue to gr ow, while taking into account its known histor y.
2
The Catholic Chur ch r igor ously examines its own histor y
when changes must be made.
Chur ch histor y inspir ed the inclusion of the Plaza as
one of the main elements in the design of this chur ch com-
plex. In her book, Shaping a House for the Chur ch, Mar chita
Mauck r emar ks, The incor por ation of a gather ing place in
the design of Chr istian chur ches is as old as Chr istian ar-
chitectur e.
3
The plaza in this design was inspir ed by the
Domus Ecclesia, or House Chur ch at Dur a Eur opus. This
Domus Ecclesia is the ear liest known sur viving Chr istian
chur ch building. It is a Roman house, conver ted into a
gather ing space. It contains an inter ior, open air plaza,
ar ound which all other r ooms ar e located. The plaza is not
dir ectly connected to the str eet, but is a place that one must
fig. a: Dom u s Eccl esi a a t Du r a
Eu r opos ( Sa lh iyeh , Syr ia ) , A.D. 231.
fig. a
1
Th om a s Boken kotter, ACon cise
Histor y of th e Ca th olic Ch u r ch ( Ga r-
den City, New Yor k: I m a ge Books,
1979) 423.
2
Joseph Ma r tos, Door s to th e Sa -
cr ed: A Histor ica l I n tr odu ction to
Sa cr a m en ts in th e Ca th olic Ch u r ch
( New Yor k: I m a ge Books, 1982) 3-
8.
3
Ma r ch i t a Ma u ck , Sh a p i n g a
Ho u se fo r t h e Ch u r ch ( Ch i ca g o :
Li t u r gi ca l Tr a i n i n g P u bl i ca t i on s,
1990) 9.
acrea !bre.boa 9
enter befor e enter ing the sanctuar y. It is a gather ing space,
used both befor e and after chur ch ser vices.
The gather ing space is still fundamental to Catholic
wor ship. Mar chita Mauck is a litur gical specialist and ar t
histor ian. She wr ote a book titled Shaping a House for the
Chur ch. Her book deals with how to build a Catholic chur ch
after Second Vatican Council r efor ms. Mauck sees the gath-
er ing space as an essential pr ecur sor to wor ship. The gath-
er ing ar ea is a place wher e people can meet infor mally, to
discuss both chur ch and non-chur ch r elated matter s. She
ar gues that plazas in fr ont of chur ches have been histor i-
cally used as mar ket and festival places. In this pr oject, the
Plaza ser ves all of these functions.
The Plaza exists within the Sacr ed r ealm, but is still
located outside of the mor e sacr ed zone of the chur ch sanc-
tuar y. It is located along the sacr ed path pr ovided by the
Wall ( see figur e) . It acts as a r esting place along the jour-
ney or a place of pausing. It contains a fountain that for e-
shadows the mor e sacr ed fountain that one encounter s at
the Baptister y.
Within the Plaza, one is sur r ounded by the Wall on
four sides. To the Nor th, East and West, one sees the inte-
r ior of the Wall. ( As one looks to the Nor th, the inter ior of
the Wall, and the r elief sculptur e of the Holy Family, can be
seen thr ough the par ish hall.) To the South, the Wall has
openings cover ed in alabaster, allowing for passage of light
between the sanctuar y space and the Plaza while still main-
taining the solid language of the Wall.
The Plaza is a space that exists between the Par ish
Hall and the pr ecinct of the Sanctuar y. It defines its own
space, not allowing itself to be shaped by sur r ounding str uc-
tur es. Its or ientation, however spr ings fr om the Wall which
separ ates it fr om the Sanctuar y. And its pavement patter ns
fig. a: Gr ou n d Floor Pla n of com -
p l ex wi t h p a t h a n d p l a za h i g h -
ligh ted.
fig. a
acrea !bre.boa 10
fig. a: Pa r i sh Ha l l , secon d l evel
pl a n .
fig. b: Pa r i sh Ha l l , gr ou n d l evel
pl a n .
figc: Section th r ou gh pla za fa cin g
Nor th . ( Sou th eleva tion of th e Pa r-
fig. a
fig. b
fig. c
ar e der ived fr om both the pavement of the path which ac-
companies the Wall and the gr id which defines the str uc-
tur e of the par ish hall.
The south faade of the par ish hall is made up of a
ser ies of columns and planes which accentuate movement
along the sacr ed path, while announcing an entr ance to the
par ish hall. The ver tical plane that str etches East and West
along the r ight side of the faade stops movement nor th-
war d, and r edir ects movement to the West, as one is enter-
ing. And the left por tion of the faade contains planes or i-
ented Nor th and South, indicating a change of dir ection to-
war ds the South. Columns in thr ee centr al bays of the south
faade denote an entr ance into the par ish gather ing hall, of
which the exter ior plaza is an extension. Within the par ish
hall, the inter ior gather ing space r ises two stor ies, and acts
as an inter ior plaza similar to the plaza in the Domus Ecclesia
at Dur a Eur opus. It is a space thr ough which one must
pass befor e enter ing the par ish offices, classr ooms, kitchen,
libr ar y, and apar tments for r esident pr iests.
acrea !bre.boa 11
fig. a: Axon om etr ic view of th e Pa r-
ish Ha ll fa ca de fa cin g th e Pla za .
fig. b: Section th r ou gh com plex,
fa cin g West.
fig. a
fig. b
acrea !bre.boa 12
THE CHUHCH
One encounter s the Baptister y befor e enter ing the chur ch.
It is both hidden and r evealed by a cur ved, br ick scr een.
Histor ically, baptister ies wer e separ ated fr om the chur ch;
they wer e separ ate buildings. Recently, however, baptismal
fonts began to appear within the chur ch as par t of the wor-
ship space a pr actice now being questioned. Many theo-
logians believe that the Catholic Chur ch should r etur n to
pr evious tr aditions of separ ate baptister ies, while other s
ar gue that the Chur ch should continue placing baptismal
fonts within the sanctuar y. Some theologians and litur gists
believe that baptism is a pr ivate sacr ament, celebr ated and
pr acticed with a small gr oup of people, including immedi-
ate family and close fr iends. Other s believe that baptism is
a sacr ament that should be shar ed with the whole commu-
nity.
Within this design, the Baptister y is placed outside of
the sanctuar y. Its placement is impor tant, not only with
r egar d to its histor y, but also in view of its meaning. It
r ecalls the ear ly histor ical separ ation of the baptismal font
fr om the chur ch sanctuar y. And it is located near the en-
tr ance of the Chur ch as a r eminder of the believer ' s death
and r esur r ection in Chr ist. Mauck comments in Shaping a
House for the Chur ch:
Th e exper ien ce of ba ptism a s en tr y in to th e life of
God im poses a n a ddition a l la yer of m ea n in g for th e
a r ch itectu r a l en tr y spa ce. Th e en tr ywa y is n ot on ly
th e focu s for th e ga th er in g of th e a ssem bly, Th e lit-
era l en try in to th e bu ildin g idea lly provides th e ritu a l
exper ien ces of en tr y a n d r een tr y in to th e life of th e
com m u n ity ba ptism a n d r econ cilia tion .
1
The baptismal font is also a for eshadowing of the basin
within the sanctuar y that the believer encounter s immedi-
ately upon enter ing, to invoke the Sign of the Cr oss.
figures: En la r ged pla n a t Ba ptistr y,
sketch es of ba ptister y, m odel/ ph oto-
gr a ph ic stu dy of ba ptister y.
1
Ma u ck, 42.
acrea !bre.boa 14
The chur ch building is separ ated fr om its sur r ound-
ing str uctur es. It stands at a distance fr om the Wall, the
Baptister y and the vestr y and confessional. The chur ch
building is sur r ounded by a gar den. Wher e the walls of the
Chur ch meet the gr ound, a gr anite moat r eceives r unoff
fr om the r oof of the building, acting as a boundar y between
the sur r ounding gar den and the Chur ch building.
The Chur ch is elliptical in plan. Its shape is dictated
by a Catholic attitude towar ds litur gical space. The Catholic
Chur ch believes that a wor ship space should be shaped
ar ound the litur gy. The manner in which believer s use a
space should define the for m of that space. The ellipse is a
mar r iage of two types of plans typical thr oughout chur ch
histor y: longitudinal and centr alized. In the ear ly histor y
of the Chur ch, longitudinal chur ches wer e used for mass
wh ile c e n tr a lize d c h u r c h e s we r e a sso c ia te d mo r e with
mar tyr ia, or bur ial sites of saints. Dur ing the late Renais-
sance and Bar oque per iods in Italy, the centr alized plan
was cr iticized as having its r oots in paganism. Theor ists,
such as Car lo Bor r omeo, believed that centr alized build-
ings, such as the Tomb of Hadr ian or the Pantheon, evoked
fig. a: Deta il of m oa t a t th e bottom
of th e Ch u r ch s wa lls.
figb: En la r ged pla n of th e pr ecin ct
of th e Ch u r ch Sa n ctu a r y.
fig. a
fig. b
2
Kr u ft, 94.
acrea !bre.boa 15
idolatr ousness.
2
And befor e the Second Vatican Council,
Catholic Chur ch buildings r esembled school buses, wher e
both the pr iest and assembly would face the altar.
Neither a centr alized nor a longitudinal plan ar e ap-
pr opr iate for Catholic wor ship today, but both for ms ar e
necessar y. The Second Vatican council calls for gr eater
par ticipation of the laity in the mass. It calls for a dynamic
inter action, wher e par ishioner s can see, not only the Eu-
char ist, but other believer s as well. The community is em-
phasized. Acentr alized space would be an appr opr iate ex-
pr ession for this idea of communal inter action. The Chur ch,
however, still includes pr ocessions in its litur gy. Longitudi-
nal plans allow for pr ocessions. The ellipse is a union of
these two for ms of chur ch design, allowing for a centr al
focus while still maintaining a major axis for pr ocessions.
The seating within the sanctuar y is not per manent,
except for a bench which lines the inter ior of the wall of the
sanctuar y. Pews wer e not pr esent in Catholic wor ship spaces
until after the Counter Refor mation. Having imper manent
seating allows for the possibility of the Catholic Chur ch
moving back to not having seating. This would allow for a
mor e active and less passive encounter dur ing the mass.
figures: A stu dy of ch u r ch pla n s.
Ga th er in g spa ces a r e h igh ligh ted in
yellow, Worsh ip spa ces in green . Th e
focu s ( a lta r) is in dica ted in red. Ma -
j or a n d m i n or a xes a r e i n di ca t ed
with blu e lin es.
topfigures, left toright: Not r e-
Da m e - d u - Ha u t , Le Co r b u s i e r,
Ro n c h a m p , Fr a n c e , 1 9 5 0 - 5 5 ;
Ch u r c h o f Sa i n t e - Fo y, Co n q u e s,
Fr a n c e , 1 0 4 0 - 1 1 3 0 ; Co l l e g i a t e
Ch u r ch of Sa n t I vo della Sa pien za ,
Fr a n cesco Bor r om in i, Rom e, 1642-
60.
middlefigures, left to right:
Ch u r ch of Sa n Ca r l o a l l e Qu a t r o
Fo n t a n e , Fr a n c e sc o Bo r r o m i n i ,
Ro m e , 1 6 3 4 - 3 7 ; Sa n Vi t a l e ,
Ra ven n a , I t a l y, 532- 548; Ma u so-
l e u m o f Co n s t a n t i n a ( Sa n t a
Costa n za ) , Rom e, cir ca A.D. 350.
lower figures, left to right:
Br a m a n tes pla n for Sa in t Peter s,
Rom e, 1504- 14; Old Sa in t Peter s,
Rom e, A.D. 319- 329; St . Ma r k a t
Ven lo, Neth er la n ds.
Note: All figu r es a da pted fr om im -
a ges fr om Lela n d M. Roth , Un der-
st a n di n g Ar ch i t ect u r e ( New Yor k:
Ha r per Collin s, 1993) .
acrea !bre.boa 16
The ceiling of a chur ch building histor ically has been
a symbol of heaven. Domes and vaults wer e painted with
images of they sky and the heavenly host of angels and saints
sur r ounding Chr ist. In this space, the ceiling offer s a view
to the sky itself. Light which enter s thr ough the glass filter s
thr ough fins which cur ve and cr oss the space Nor th and
South. Light softly illuminates the sanctuar y space, not sepa-
r ating the space har shly into zones. Fr om the outside of the
chur ch, the sanctuar y wall r ises towar ds the taber nacle,
located at the East end of the chur ch, wher e the consecr ated
Euchar ist or Body of Chr ist r esides.
figs. a-e: Ligh t stu dies of Ch u r ch
in ter ior.
fig. f: Deta il of skyligh t a t Ch u r ch
r oof.
fig. a
fig. b
fig. c
fig. a
fig. e
fig. f
acrea !bre.boa 1
CONCLUSlON
The thr eshold is not mer ely an event that exists between
two states. It can be both a pr ecise point and an ambigu-
ous gr ay ar ea. It can be a moment or a pr ocess. The thr esh-
old does not exist for itself. It belongs to both the state that
one is leaving and that state that one is jour neying towar ds.
The thr eshold can be mer ely a step, an abr upt visual change
exper ienced by the body. It can be a passage that dir ects
the tr aveler into incr easing or decr easing levels of enclo-
sur e.
Th e th r esh o ld , d efin ed simp ly, mar k s an en -
tr ance. It, however, is mor e than that. As one passes thr ough
a thr eshold, one must depar t fr om something else. One
must separ ate oneself fr om similitude in or der to ar r ive at
a place of differ ence. A thr eshold that exists between two
similar states is not a thr eshold. It would mer ely be an
object in a field. The thr eshold involves change.
The thr eshold is biased. It pr efer s one state to
the other, whether it is inside or outside, enclosed or open.
It points and dir ects. As in the stor y of Exodus, the jour ney
consists of a passage fr om one place to another : fr om Egypt
to the Pr omised Land. One state of being is assumed to be
per fer r ed mor e than the other. This is wher e the thr eshold
guides us.
acrea !bre.boa 18
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avcatiov
Ma ster of Ar ch itectu r e
Vir gin ia Polytech n ic I n stitu te a n d Sta te Un iver sity
Bla cksbu r g, Vir gin ia
1998
Ba ch elor of Ar ts in Ar t Histor y
Du ke Un iver sity
Du r h a m , Nor th Ca r olin a
1993
Profe..iova perievce
McAllister Ar ch itectu r a l Con su ltin g Ser vices
Architectural Intern
Alexa n dr ia , Vir gin ia
Ma y 1997 - pr esen t
Ar ch itectu r e I n cor por a ted
Draftsperson
Reston , Vir gin ia
Decem ber 1996 - Ja n u a r y 1997
.ctiritie.
Gr a du a te Assista n t
Librarian
Wa sh in gton - Alexa n dr ia Ar ch itectu r e Con sor tiu m
Alexa n dr ia , Vir gin ia
Au gu st 1996 - Ma y 1997
Gr a du a te Tea ch in g Assista n t
Historyof Architecture
Vir gin ia Polytech n ic I n stitu te a n d Sta te Un iver sity
Bla cksbu r g, Vir gin ia
Au gu st 1995 - Ma y 1996
VlTA
Paul Vincent Gonzaga
April 18, 192
Charleston, South Carolina
acrea !bre.boa 22