The Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre of Las Chumberas

Las Chumberas. San Cristóbal de la Laguna. Tenerife / Spain / 2021

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Project included in the architecture collection of the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MoMa)


Honor Award of the Religious Art and Architecture Faith & Form and AIA Interfaith Design Awards 2021


Highly Commended,  Civic & Community, MIPIM  and Architectural Review Future Projects Awards 2020


 


Community matters


The construction of The Holy Redeemer Church took many years, more than fifteen and it has overlapped with the transformation process of Las Chumberas, which is a neighborhood of 670 homes from the 1970s, organized into 42 blocks, to which were later added shopping centers and industrial buildings. Supported at all times by the Bishopric of Tenerife, initiator of the project, as well as patrons and residents, Menis conceived the Church as a necessary catalyst for the urban and social changes that were taking place in the neighborhood. In his vision, the new building should create a place where there was none, and contribute to giving Las Chumberas an identity of its own, establishing itself as a reference space in a confusing urban fabric. The resulting compound includes a Church, a community centre and a public square surrounded by greenery, that is, a public meeting place that the neighborhood needed.


The building is also an example of collective action since the financing of the works has been carried out through donations from various organizations, many neighbors and some businessmen committed to the neighborhood where they were born and grew. The uneven rhythm of remittances is in fact what has determined the constructive logic of the project and its subsequent execution: a compound made up of four independent modules plus their surroundings, which has been delivered in phases. The community center, housed in two of the four volumes, was completed in 2008 and has been in use ever since while waiting to raise the necessary funds for the rest of the works.


 


Low-tech innovation with concrete and stone


The building, inspired by the geology of the volcanic island, is embedded in the ground and rises with its four massive volumes resembling large restless rocks. The rough texture of the exposed concrete strikes a sharp contrast with the conventional residential context where it goes up. It is as if a geological phenomena had occurred on the outskirts, as if nature were fighting against banality. Its petrous volumes are separated by narrow cracks filled with sculptural structures made of metal and glass, through which daylight enters the building to configure an austere and stark compound, which relinquishes all superfluous elements.


Daylight filters down through the cuts to shape a free-flowing and introverted void and to play an essential role in mass by stressing each of the Christian sacraments. At sunrise, the light comes in through the cross as a cascade of light that fills the space behind the altar to symbolize the entrance to the cave in which Jesus Christ was buried and illuminating the baptismal font, the first light of a Christian. The altar, the confirmation and the communion receive light at noon through the skylight. Later, a shaft of light falls on the confessional. The strategic layout of the skylights achieves the same effect on unction, matrimony and priesthood.


The use of concrete as the main material in this building, addresses several aspects at the same time: exterior, interior, structure, form, matter and texture. First of all, it is a common material, accesible locally, which allows the architect to work only with local companies and materials, in accordance with the Km 0 architecture principles to which Menis adheres. Second, the energy efficiency provided by concrete, due to its isotropic nature, is enhanced here by the thermal inertia of the thick solid walls.


Finally, as in his CKK Jordanki Culture, Music and Congress Hall (2015, Poland), or Magma Art and Congress Center (2007, Tenerife), Menis experiments here with the acoustic potential of the concrete and demystifies the common belief that the concrete is acoustically inferior to other materials such as wood. In terms of acoustics, concrete has been used here in two ways: for diffusion, conventional exposed concrete was used, while for absorption, the surface of the exposed concrete previously mixed with light porous volcanic stone (picón) was chipped. The acoustics thus achieved resemble the usual in the opera, suitable for speech and song, ideally designed for a building that combines ecclesiastical and social functions.


  


Facts


Location: Street Volcán Estrómboli, 3, Las Chumberas 38108, La Laguna, Tenerife island, Canary Islands, Spain


Design years: 2004 - 2005


Construction years: 2005 - 2008 (Community Centre), 2021 (Church is completed), 2022 (Environment is scheduled for completion)


Structural system: Reinforced concrete


Materials: Concrete and volcanic stones


Site area: 1.590 m2


Building area: 1.050 m2 (built building area 538 m2 + built open space area: 512 m2)


Total floor area: 833, 91 m2


Cost of construction: 2.000.000,00 €


Maximum height: 16.90 m


 


Credits


Architect: Fernando Menis


Client: Parroquia Santísimo Redentor de Las Chumberas - Diocese of Tenerife, City Hall of La Laguna


Architectural Design Team (along the 16 years construction process): Babak Asadi, Juan Bercedo, María Berga, Roberto Delgado, Javier Espílez, Andrés Ferrer, Niels Heinrich, Yanira León, Joanna Makowska Czerska, Paula Manzano, Natalia Pyzio, Raúl Rivera, Gerardo Rodríguez, Esther Senís, Andreas Weihnacht, Julia Zasada


Consultants. Structure: Juan José Gallardo. Acoustics: Pedro Cerdá/i2A ACOUSTIC&AUDIOVISUAL ENGINEERING. HVAC: J. Oliver Oliva Alonso/ DUAL INGENIEROS, José Ángel Marrero/NUEVA TERRAIN, Fernando Javier Hernández/ PRISMA INGENIEROS. Quantities survey: Rafael Hernández, Andrés Pedreño, Ruperto Santiago Hernández.


Main providers. Concrete: CEMEX Spain. Formwork systems: PERI Spain. Lighting: ZUMTOBEL - José María Martín Piñeiro/ MP LIGHTCAN.


Other providers. Locksmith works: ESTRUCTURAS METALICAS DELSUA CANARIAS. Glass: Núria Hernández/ MARRERO CRISTALEROS. Paint: Ramón Hernández de la Guardia /JOTUN. Gardening: Fernando Ascanio / ZONA VERDE.


Construction companies: CONSTRUCCIONES CAROLINA, CONSTRUCCIONES ÁTICO (Mercedes Suárez, Francisco José Tejera), SOLVENTIA INGENIERÍA Y CONSTRUCCIÓN.

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    Project included in the architecture collection of the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MoMa) Honor Award of the Religious Art and Architecture Faith & Form and AIA Interfaith Design Awards 2021 Highly Commended,  Civic & Community, MIPIM  and Architectural Review Future Projects Awards 2020   Community matters The construction of The Holy Redeemer Church took many years, more than fifteen and it has overlapped with the transformation process of Las Chumberas, which...

    Project details
    • Year 2021
    • Work started in 2004
    • Work finished in 2021
    • Main structure Reinforced concrete
    • Client Obispado de la Diócesis de Tenerife - Parroquia del Santísimo Redentor de Las Chumberas
    • Contractor ONSTRUCCIONES CAROLINA, CONSTRUCCIONES ÁTICO (Mercedes Suárez, Francisco José Tejera), SOLVENTIA INGENIERÍA Y CONSTRUCCIÓN.
    • Cost 2.000.000
    • Status Completed works
    • Type Churches
    • Websitehttp://www.menis.es
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