monastery church
of siloe
cinigiano (gr)ongoing
The area of the church is delimited by the extension of the stone enclosure of the Monastery of Siloe (the stone walls), on which a zinc-titanium layer supported by wooden struts has been laid (all roofs are made of zinc and titanium).
The layer does not reach the ground, thus creating a sense of continuity between the floor inside the church and the external surface level. The baptistery is in the churchyard. The church door and the baptismal font are protected from the rain by a light wooden narthex.
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- © archos archive
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- © archos archive
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- © archos archive
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- © archos archive
© archos archive
The vertical slit in the back wall of the apse together with another slit the same size in the roof above and orthogonal to it form a cross of light that can only be seen from the inside. The entrance door, which is 30 cm thick, as wide as the entire central nave and as high as the narthex, is a pivot door that rotates on itself. The pivot door allows the monks to enter the church in procession exactly on its central axis.
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Constant, neutral lighting without shadows and reflections floods the church from below along the aisles, while a dynamic, constantly moving beam of sunlight traces the entire daily path of the sun on the walls of the church with the altar as its main focus. The single-pitch roof, a ribbed vault made of zinc and titanium, is supported by two rows of coupled, slanted wooden columns. The height of the columns increases from the entrance to the apse, thus emphasizing the sharp slope of the roof towards the sky, which creates a dramatic effect for visitors walking from the entrance along the floor slightly sloping towards the altar.
© archos archive
© archos archive