Creative association"
Squaring the Circle”, created in 2011 in Moscow, aims to find the ideal image of an Orthodox church for our time. A series of projects created by the architects of this group for the parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Reykjavik clearly demonstrates the area of this search. One of the founders of the association, architect Daniil Makarov, told Archi.ru about the history of the work, its specifics, about the traditional and new in the architecture of Orthodox churches.
Daniil Makarov, architect of the "Square of the circle"
Archi.ru:
How did such an unusual project come to you?
Daniil Makarov:
- I have been cooperating with the Andrei Rublev Center for Temple Art (TSKHIAR) for a long time. It is headed by the remarkable icon painter Alexander Nikolaevich Soldatov, one of the leading in today's Russia. In recent years, he has also been involved in the design of temples. Actually, initially I helped him with the architectural part, made visualizations of his project, and then ventured to offer my vision: what an Orthodox church in Reykjavik could be like.
Why are there so many very different options?
- The process turned out to be long and difficult. This always happens when the desires of very different people collide and, as a result, something is constantly changing. The very first version, created by Alexander Soldatov, was very modest, one-domed (no pictures survived), but it was rejected by the community and the priest: in their opinion, the decision did not correspond to the ambitions of the first Orthodox church in Iceland. The community in Reykjavik is quite large, about nine hundred people, and they do not have their own temple, only a small prayer room that can accommodate no more than 50 believers. For big holidays, a Catholic cathedral is rented. People are full of ambitions to build the first real temple, they see it as something colossal and grandiose, but there are not many opportunities. It all started with a sketch of a small, one-domed temple, made in the style of Vladimir architecture, with a slight inclusion of northern motives. Then, in response to the wishes of the community, Alexander Soldatov proposed a more representative version of the stone church, also in the style of Vladimir architecture, but with three chapters. At that moment, the idea arose to change the site and make not only a temple, but also a spacious cultural complex. I was very interested in this story and I proposed my first project of my own: with masonry, reminiscent of the walls of the Solovetsky Monastery, but from local natural stone with gradation of tone and the active use of red, not only avant-garde and protest, but also characteristic of Baroque churches. Nevertheless, the initial site was finally approved, on the border of the port and the old city, for which I proposed three more options.
In your projects, you refer to buildings of different times and different territories of Russia, what is the reason for such a spread?
“Together with Philip Yakubchuk and Ivan Zemlyakov, it was no coincidence that we called the“Square of the Circle”a creative association - it was thought of as a story about a search. And, doing a large amount of work, we also solve our own tasks to find some ideal image that fully meets the context. For the new-old place, I first proposed an asymmetric version, combining Russian traditions with Scandinavian simplicity and practicality. But after discussing the first draft designs, it became obvious that a completely inexpensive solution was needed. Modern options were not considered, and I tried to find historical analogs. The simple and laconic winter churches of Suzdal with their gable roofs seemed to be a successful prototype: it was possible to type elements, minimize the complexity of construction and reduce the volume of construction. So the third version was born - a snow-white temple with a red dome. But to the customer, he again seemed not solemn enough, even "rural". I complicated the solution by adding a pile of kokoshniks referring to northern architecture, for example, to the Transfiguration Church of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
Which of the created images do you consider the most interesting and why?
- Hard to say. The second of my options is best worked out. Perhaps, he most fully takes into account all the wishes of the customer and numerous construction restrictions. At the same time, as it seems to me and my colleagues, it managed to organically reflect some tendencies of modern architecture, as far as possible, to identify links with both laconic Scandinavian architecture and northern Russian architecture.
What is the current situation? Has a project been selected, has construction begun?
- At the moment, the search is no longer being conducted. Icelandic architects are setting the stage for more detailed design, in particular geology is being done. And of all the projects that have been created, two are being discussed: the last project by Alexander Soldatov, focused on Pskov architecture - and just this, my second project. As far as I know, the priest and the local community are still leaning towards a more traditional option, but the final decision has not yet been made.
Tell us a little more about this most promising project in your opinion. What restrictions and urban planning difficulties did you mention?
- The area of all floors of the temple should not exceed 300 m2… The figure was determined by local architects based on the urban planning parameters of the site. Since there are mainly private buildings around, the height of the temple was also strictly limited: about 20 m to the cross. As a result, the volume was inevitably quite squat. In addition, the very configuration of the site turned out to be rather complicated; it was almost impossible to orient the temple exactly to the east. In the traditional version of Alexander Soldatov, it is oriented to the northeast, almost to the north, but we managed to achieve a more correct location. Finally, the area around the temple had to be open to everyone and provide a through passage, since a public servitude was installed on the ground. I tried to create a very simple, laconic and clean volume, which would be difficult to reveal in space. For old Russian churches, such sculpturality is very characteristic, different perceptions from different sides, they actively interact with the surrounding space. Therefore, initially I included in the project a great variety of facades. On the northern one, for example, he deepened the windows, which made it possible to compensate for the lack of light to reveal the plasticity and create the impression of a characteristic powerful wall. And the southern facade initially received a complex outline, which made it possible to somehow diversify its perception in a rather simple way. When the sun changes its position during the day, the cut-off pattern on the facade also changes, there is no need to somehow complicate the plastic of the wall, so here the windows are located flush with the plane of the wall. The inner space of the temple does not have traditional weight tectonics, but rather obeying semantic tectonics, it flows from the main temple altar to the baptistery, and then to the belfry. And in this space there are “planted” domes that correspond to two thrones. Another technique I used: the separation of internal and external space, while the entrance becomes an element of a detailed, sacred interior, which is, as it were, splashed out onto the laconic facade. This role is played by a carved wooden portal. It is appropriate here to recall the traditional carved platbands.
Still, the traditional, well-drawn, but secondary in its architecture project was accepted more favorably. Will such customers be ready to support bold and independent solutions in the foreseeable future?
- I am sure that such a time will come. And the question is rather whether the architectural community will be ready to give a coherent, correct answer to this request. Very few architects, literally a few, today really understand what an Orthodox church is. Almost all of them grew up from among the restorers, which provokes the endless reproduction of historical images. At the same time, there are priests who are ready to support our search. Actually, in this case, the project did not cause any sharp rejection, as far as I know. So the only question is how long it will take to overcome the inertia of temple architecture, by the way, inherent in Russian architecture as a whole. Therefore, we try to closely monitor the reaction to all publications, it is very interesting to observe how the attitude towards our projects changes over time. ***
Daniil Makarov encourages readers to discuss the topic and will be glad to receive responses and opinions. The editors are also wondering what you think about the architecture of modern temples. Write comments.
