☉ Rwanda chapel is an honour mention proposal by Leart Miftari Adonis Rexhepi Blerim Bajraliu and Arber Sadiku for Young Architects Competitions designed in 2019. It is located in Rukomo Rwanda in a forest setting. Its scale is small with a surface of 140 sqm. Key material is concrete. Review the 8 proposals for the same competition.
Everyone’s space
The whole idea was headed towards creating one universal free space. Human being by the fact of its existence has the undeniable right of participating In the space, everywhere. This principle oriented us towards a building which is open for everyone, without doors, barriers… It is closed as much as it’s necessary to protect the participants from atmospheric conditions, but deeply opened and accessible anytime by anyone.
Despite the fact that the building is dedicated to the religious community, the religion symbol, such as cross, is designed to reflect in a more of a natural way.
The symbol comes very naturally, shaped by the main architectural elements, such as walls and ceiling. The light reflecting through the gaps of the vertical (frontal) and horizontal (ceiling) walls is perceived as a three-dimensional cross. The symbol is not constructed as a concrete, physical artefact placed within the architectural space, however it comes as the direct result of architectural approach.
The building is materialised on red pigmented concrete, known to be familiar with the local traditional mud bricks, however with stronger constructive characteristics.