Church and community centre | studio quattroassociati

Introducing an architectural presence with a strong figurative identity in the built fabric in order to make the new church clearly recognizable was the main concern of the project.

The parish complex is divided by an enclosure-threshold designed to emphasize the passage into the sacred space it contains, the architecture of which is obtained in what would seem the carving of a volume of constant height. The different areas of the liturgical and pastoral program are unified in an organic design, gathered around the voids marked by the long church square, the tree-lined patio and the Caritas courtyard.
The morphological articulation of the new church that rises from the sacred enclosure is designed to express the sign of the Cross in an architectural form. On the main elevation the volume rises perpendicularly, while on the back, the mantle- shaped structure outlines the apse that accommodates the presbytery. The ceiling projects the cross into the church as a large hanging volume that channels natural light. The cross-shaped volume enhances the architectural space the sacredness of which is further exalted by the natural light that floods through the large decorated window and by the water feature located between the weekday chapel and sacristy. The bell tower is carved into the main elevation, right above the bronze portal.

client: Archdiocese of Milan, Parish of Trezzano sul Naviglio
architectural design: Quattroassociati
gross floor area: 1,660 sqm
church for 500 people