Sacred precinct in the rocks' shade

Today faith in the supernatural has weakened, afflicting collective bonds. We address the reintroduction of the sacred in the city, as a source of assistance and love. Our case study, the monastery, has a human and an occult nature. The site, an old quarries' hill, reflects this duality: it is an intermediate place, which once natural, is transformed by human activity. We aim to create a space allowing the co existence of the mystical and the secular. Where monks could perform their rituals and spiritual ascesis, as well as interact and form bonds with society offering help to people in need.

The monastery, destined for twelve monks, is placed in the hill’s southern cavity. Due to quarrying, the rock has been carved out as an alcove reminiscent of a cave without ceiling. The monastery complex niched in the rock doesn’t impose itself on the landscape. It appears and disappears depending on where one stands and walks on the hill's paths. The rock forms three sides of its precinct, which is completed on the fourth side by the entrance building housing spaces for the guests' reception and accommodation. Arriving at the heart of the monastery, one faces the church's east elevation emerging from the rock and further back, the cemetery’s cypresses. Hollows in the ground level reveal the lower plane running throughout the complex. Attached to the rockface, an inclined wall rises from below forming another elevation. Set back from it, the cells are perched high on the rock, overlooking a narrow garden which offers the monks views of the monastery, the hill and far away the city. On the lower level, interconnected courtyards multiply the cavity's space allowing a parallel activity in the infirmary, the workshops and the library. Water surfaces accentuate the depth and reflect the sky. Through an underground passage the monks can reach the church. The ossuary, lit by a skylight, is found before ascending to the cemetery and the church courtyard. The contrast between brilliant sunlight and semi-darkness marks the transition from the exterior to the interior of the church . Light comes in through small windows and narrow roof openings. The north wall is made up of the rock itself. The main part of the ceiling is made of wood, its surface totally covered by icon paintings. One is surrounded by paintings, flickering candlelight and streaming light reflecting on the rock.