MEMORIAL CHAPEL TO THE WW2 VICTIMS
Memorial Chapel to the victims of the Church of the Ascension bombardment on April 6,1941
Open Design Competition
Belgrade, Serbia
y=2020.
Authors: Milos Jokic, Tijana Mackic, Teodora Spasic
Context
On a macro scale, the context of the new temple – ‘Kneza Miloša Street’ can be read as an axis of intertwining numerous and significant, but also tragic sequences in the history of the city of Belgrade. In that sense, this city axis in the spatial realm unites some of the most excruciating moments in the modern history of Serbia - the tragic bombings from 1941, 1945 and 1999. Also, it materializes these memories through scars in the urban matrix, making them evident. Along with all important state buildings such as the House of the National Assembly towards Topčider, the Government building, the foreign embassies, the former building of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army - the turbulent history of this area, during the second half of the XIX and XX century, was shared by the Church of the Ascension.
On the micro scale, the Church of the Ascension is of great importance. The temple built for the Serbian army witnessed this history from various perspectives - from the departure of Peter I Karadjordjevic to the First Balkan War, through the events during World War I, during which a grenade hit the north wall of the temple which did not explode, to the tragic beginning of the bombing in April 1941 when 180 people perished in its gate - this Temple was at the same time a refuge for many, as well as a victim of several aggressors.
The time has come to build a landmark of this turbulent past - a memorial temple dedicated to the victims of the 6th of April, Easter morning, 1941 bombing.
dome
Urban concept
The conceptual design of the memorial temple is aligned to the significant existing micro-environment and creates a non-invasive relationship with the context. Moreover, the proposal of the urban intervention strives to accentuate, and thus verify the existing spatial directions. The author's idea is that in this way, the complexity of the new memorial temple fits into the micro-urbanism of the church gate and becomes an integral part of it. The axis of the existing cross sign was taken, as the main spatial formation axis, perpendicular to the Church of the Ascension. Therefore, the position of the new temple is located at the southeastern end of that axis, which is a consequence of the intention to achieve the greatest possible distance between the new and the existing temple. In that way, and with such positioning, we preserve the existing vistas but also the plateau between the two temples, which in the spatial sense becomes the central zone of the church gate. The plateau, composed of 3 cascades, has a purpose similar to the ancient agora - it becomes a space that, programmatically and visually, unites the existing and newly designed spatial structures.
site plan & section
axonometric view of the assembly
Semantic concept - The universal legibility of the memorial ensures a permanent memory
The very memorial character of the new temple, as well as its future role in preserving the awareness and memory of tragic events and sufferings during the darkest period of our history, indicates the need for a timeless character of the future building. This premise represents the starting point from which the spatial design concept itself is derived. The need for the permanence of memory and its semantic connection with the building of the temple indicates the need for its monolithicity, stability and permanence. Therefore, stone is chosen as the most suitable material for the construction of the future temple - a material that undoubtedly and unmistakably has all the appropriate properties.
plans: crypt, ground floor, dome & vaults
altar
Material durability and properties
In terms of form, the author's intention is to compose a temple that emphasizes and unimpairs the properties and character of the selected material. In other words, the building itself is treated as a stone monolith, which, similar to Serbian medieval tombstones, unequivocally indicates its eternity and sacredness. During the design processes, this idea was coalesced with notions of the sharpness of the edges, the uniformity of its materialization, as well as the incision of traces and imprints. The aim was to experience the building as a single solidified whole. With its massiveness, compactness, and thus its mass, it undoubtedly points to the magnitude and weight of the tragedy it represents. This aspect is further emphasized by the shallow moat that surrounds the temple - the “burden” rises, through sharp crushed stone, to the sky. Additionally, the facade and the roof planes of the temple are covered with shallow grazing in the stone - they represent scars that never heal, and as such preserve the memory of the suffering of the great martyrs.
sections & elevations
central nave
The physiognomy of the temple - Central plan
In terms of space, the temple is designed according to the principle of central symmetry, with one central and four side naves, which basically build a Greek cross. Above the central nave, an octagonal tambour with a dome is raised, positioned on the pendants in the interior. At the entrance, a biblical inscription is engraved "I am the resurrection and the life" from the Gospel of John (11:25), which once again indicates the memorial character of the temple.
The temple can be programmatically, and therefore, spatially, divided into a chapel and a crypt. Along the sides of the entrance nave, there is a pangal,two niches for lighting candles, while the altar space is designed in the south-east nave. Below the level of the chapel, a crypt with an ossuary was designed, in the space of which there are 12 tombstones along the perimeter of the side naves and one, central, circular slab, zenithally illuminated through a circular opening in the center of the cross vault of the crypt. The high walls of the side naves end in an arch and thus cohabit the pendants that overhang the central nave, while at the same time carrying the domed tambour. In terms of construction, the dome consists of two segments / shells - the outer dome and the inner, a retracted dome.
Additionally, it is important to note that with this design approach, materialization and the very way of using traditional elements of Orthodox architecture in the design methodology of this building, the author's team tried to reconcile the modern and the traditional. The new temple carries and preservers the spirit of the time in which it was built, without disturbing the connection with the tradition of the society that will build it. Therefore, it does not represent a mimicry of the past, but an active dialogue between tradition and the existing temple.
axonometric view
exploded axonometric view
crypt
Dispersion of the Light
The natural light that is drawn into the space of the temple represents its central ambiental motif that gives softness to the space while emphasizing its height and the tectonics of the vertical elements. Zenithal lighting passes through the entire volume of the temple, from the cross in the dome, the horizontal slits on the side naves, highlighting the retracted vaults and vertical slits above the entrance, to the circular window that connects the main nave and the crypt. Additional lighting is projected inside the niche around the perimeter of the inner dome. With its radiance, it produces a halo of light around the dome, as well as a floating illusion. In that way, one intangible architectural element - light, additionally accentuates the sacral and semantic dimension of this space.
exploded axonometric view of the memorial plateau
memorial plateau
Parterre
As previously mentioned, the parterre was formed along the southeast-northwest axis, while the memorial temple itself is positioned on its southeastern part and is oriented (entrance facade) towards the main plateau of the existing temple. Moreover, a central plateau was formed in the interspace, with three cascades, which are connected to the entrance plateau of the existing temple through a cobblestone protected zone.
The idea of the author is to design a spatial structure on the first cascade, which unites several different functions with its physiognomy and appearance. Thus, it also represents a covered porch for the needs of worship, celebratory tables in the open; but also, a memorial space with a fountain. In constructive terms, the canopy is supported on one side by a wall, and on the other by steel girders. In the semantic sense, this wall is cut on one side by a new cross, which symbolizes the emptiness and absence of the lost lives of victims, and a fountain carved within the volume of the wall at its other end. The semantic role of this wall culminates in the zone between the circular opening of the fountain and the cross, where engraved would be the names of the victims, found in the gate of the Church of the Ascension in 1941. Also, the canopy itself is shaped so that it casts a cross shaped light beam on the engraved names.
A very important element of this ensemble are the green areas, which means that the design intervention itself aims to preserve and enhance the context. With that intention, a green amphitheater was designed, leaning against the sub-wall towards Kraljice Natalije Street and facing the newly designed temple. Its defusal forms a garden that surrounds the altar of the existing temple.
model
