The Re-Use Italy 2021 competition challenged the participants to revitalize a church in ruins in Southern Italy, Grottole. The main task was to transform the ruin into a concert hall, which will serve as a new point of interest for the settlement and the community. The plan is an addition that highlights the values, the major part of the church, recalling history, and connecting them together. We have kept the remaining walls and structures, to the extent that it is possible, we will not touch them, only for conservation needs. The main purpose of the reconstruction is to restore the spatial experience, and to add place for the new design program. The materials in the new parts are different from the original ones, but they fit in with it, and the new functions strengthen the building. Another important part of the concept are the memories of the church, where, in addition to the restoration of the space, we have also made an attempt to display historical events. The new, additional parts of the church (replacement of rows, the redesigned internal shape of the roof) were constructed using a pattern that has a colour coding system based on events from the history of it. The light is an important architectural element, it represents the unity of the sky and the earth, the irreligious and the saints, and gives a unique spatial experience. When designing we also made sure, that we have taken advantage of the breath-taking views, towards the valley and the panorama around the church.

description: Reuse the Fallen Church tender
location: Grottole, Italy
client: Reuse Italy
DESIGN: 2021

lead architect: Piroska Varga DLA
architect: Bianka Gizella Somkutas, Dorottya Répay, Marcell Gergely Horváth
photo: Reuse Italy

link: Reuse Italy home page
publication:  https://epiteszforum.hu/fallen-church--a-grafit-muterem-palyamuve