St. Elias Church. | NIZAR SABBAGH

Design by experimentation rather than by composition is the essence of NSA.  A methodology process and ideology, that revolves around the physical and abstract elements that surround the location.

St Elias church is NSA’s submittal to an invited competition held in 2013. It is aimed on translating the collective effort of a Lebanese village community to build an iconic church on an existing structure.

Inspired from different natural elements such as the unique rock formations surrounding the area, the orientation of the structure according to the sun and scaled upon principles of classical church building, whereas the rituals and the usage methods were observed to conclude the sequence and the distribution of functions.

The conception of the project used different software and 3D model making. The whole experimentation process resulted in the creation of a structure that announces a presence inside out. A special software was used to determine the adequate orientation of opening that allows the penetration of natural light indoors throughout the day. The church gallery is meticulously sculptured as per the envelop light language. It became part of the whole and yet detached from the interior.