Dove of Peace - Protestant Church - Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China
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The main concept of the church is based on one of the most ecclesiastical symbols, the dove of peace.
Early Christians portrayed baptism accompanied by a dove holding an olive branch in its peak and used the image as an allegory of peace.
The form of the draft plan is reminiscent of a white dove resting before flying. The peace that passes the silhouette is implicit from the beginning not only because of the floor plan that remembers of a dove but also because the distribution of spaces and the relationship between them, always with curved walls and a topography that embraces both the building and the persons frequenting it.
The movement that is generated around the church is always circular, this allows a global view of the building starting at the upper bound of the road and ending at the main entrance to a lower bound.
The height of the cross allows this to protrude from the ground and is visible from the roads near the building, allowing people to position themselves in the city, playing the role of landmark. Once we come to the place of the church we realize the essential role of landscaping in the project. This is based on an external prolongation of the interior,
The overall capacity of perception always helps to understand the volume with a free visual barrier.
The path for firefighters is reduced to a strip surrounding the building while on the contrary people have almost complete freedom of movement. The landscaping created around the church provides access to the site from almost anywhere. The cars can only access the parking lot.
The main entrance of the church is hidden between the two main volumes. The idea of enjoying the ride continues to the interior of the building. A large window allows parishioners to appreciate the volumetric capacity inside the main hall without having to access the building.
One of the properties of the church is its ability to make the most of natural light. Windows located on the exterior facade absorb a large amount of light to improve the interior light conditions, delivering light at different intensities depending on the spaces that happen.
The main hall is illuminated by a large skylight as a conceptual reminiscent of the Heart of the Dove acting as liaison between the volumes and as the main building axis.