New Parish Complex in Dresano | CORVINO+MULTARI

Layout and architectural composition are the central theme for the construction of a symbolic and representative building, as a witness of a community that gathers around values and meanings.

The volumetric definition of the space, together with the composition of shapes, animate the theme of architecture, of light, of functions and rituals, giving a precise and recognizable role to each part.

The architectural composition of the parish complex comes from the combination of two elementary geometries: the circle, a pure form par excellence, for the church itself, a place for the “celebrated Eucharist”; and the rectangle for the base block, with a central cloister surrounded by the pastoral ministry rooms, the place of the “lived Eucharist”.

The double-height volume of the Church is located in the middle of the composition, creating a long stone veneer paved churchyard. The one-storey base block has the same length as the East-West side of the lot, and its façades are marked by a texture of iron-oxide pigmented concrete elements. The colour recalls that of the bricks that, like in other agricultural buildings in the South Milan plain, act as a filter for the internal spaces illumination. The two volumes join on the churchyard, creating a perimetral path that welcomes the faithful and filters the public space and the sacred place of celebration.

The church is built around a two concentric circles layout: the most inner one is dedicated to the celebration with the benches converging towards the presbytery.

The natural light coming from the outer circular volume reaches the nave and defines a path all around the inner volume. This space hosts all the liturgical functions: the presbytery, the church tabernacle, the baptismal font, the penitentiary. The presbytery, located at the end of the perspective created by the Churchyard, the Gate, the Nave, the Apse, adds another fundamental symbolic element to the centrality of the circular layout: an axial space that culminates with the large Crucifix sculpture by artist Nino Longobardi.