2021
Reuse the Fallen Church_Chiesa Diruta Competition
Location: Grottole, Matera, Italy
Program: Concert Hall, Ruin Walk

The citizens of Grottole have lived with the ruins of their church for too long.
The design for the new Concert Hall rearranges the ruin fragments of the previous architecture to create an updated version that is familiar yet new to all inhabitants of Grottole, who since infancy are aware with that unforgettable ellipse form of the ruined dome.

The new design is one version of a puzzle, using as parts the clues we have left of the missing elements of the original church, specially the main elliptical dome that once crowned the town.
All new interventions use the ellipse geometry of the missing dome as a base, recalling the sculptural forms and serpentine curves of what once was there.
The residents of the town will point to the sinuous and undulating walkways up above and say: “Up there, that is our dome. It has come back to us now”

Two Programs
Performance Space and Vault Walk

The conversion of the Ruin Church into a performance space honors the past while looking towards the future. The new interventions -walkways, walls, furniture- in a range of bright colors, compliment the warm tones of the existing stone walls.
The entrance to the performance area is through the fallen section of the façade, whose perimeter has been retained to house the box office. Once inside, the visitor can find seating at ground level or at the balconies, accessed by spiral staircases.

The Vault Walk is a continuous, one-way promenade that sits over the church walls and meanders through the window openings of the crossing.
This Vault Walk is independent of the performance space and it is meant to be used as access and tour of the church by visitors when there are no events scheduled. While performances are going on below, the Vault Walk can be use independently.

The performance space is designed to be flexible and several configurations can be achieved, ranging from Proscenium seating for larger performances, In-The-Round seating for more intimate ones, Traverse arrangement for special events, and Individual configurations in the side chapels for multiple talks/small scale gatherings happening at the same time.

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