American Church Destroyed in 9/11 Attacks Rebuilt | Architecture

A few months ago, New York City (USA) celebrated the historic reopening of St. Petersburg. The only religious organization destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Famous architect Santiago Calatrava – which will sign tomorrow’s museum in Rio de Janeiro – undertook a complete redesign of the building, creating a space that addresses traditional Greek Orthodox liturgies in relation to the World Trade Center monument.

The church is the second structure designed by the World Trade Center complex’s workers, who also designed the transportation hub.

“I believe this structure serves its purpose as a sanctuary of worship, but also as a place to reflect on what the city has endured and how it has progressed. Architecture can have an inherent symbolic value, not specifically written or expressed, but in an abstract and synthetic way, conveying a message and a lasting identity. leaving”, said the architect.

A symbol of hope and rebirth, the structure stands about 7m above street level in the reconstructed complex of the World Trade Center.

Calatrava’s project

The architectural design is based on Byzantine architecture and its iconic buildings, especially the Church of Santa Sophia, built as the Cathedral of Constantinople. In a series of watercolors, Santiago Calatrava recreated the mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary on the “Throne of Wisdom” on the facade of the temple.

The dome, inspired by an ancient basilica, has 40 windows and 40 ‘chambers’ – visible inside and out. Among them, the faces of the dome alternate with images of 20 prophets.

The entire exterior of the structure is made of Pentelic marble, a reference to the natural stone that makes up the Parthenon in Athens. The dome is made of sheets of glass, lit from behind at night, creating a glowing light, the entire church lit up from within.

The four towers on the exterior feature alternating large and small horizontal strips of white and gray marble, reminiscent of the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Sora, Turkey.

The altar of the church is under a central dome, where the figure of Christ is surrounded by the 20 prophets of the Old Testament. The space holds only 125 people, but its architecture makes it seem larger than that. Most of the images were painted by the priest-monk Crazy Xenophontos Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece and brought to New York.

Against each wall is a double-height, backlit, marble-encased steel arch that resembles a swirling halo. The arches curve as they rise to meet the vault of the room.