Church, Zagreb

Stark and orthogonal, the geometry of the church complex composes two basic volumes: the principal mass contains the main church hall, while a secondary building is dedicated to parish and community functions and includes offices, classrooms and a kitchen and dining hall. A glass bridge corridor connects the two at the first floor. Architects Robert Križnjak and Roman Vukoja envisioned the design as a vessel, a programme wherein the central structure also becomes the spatial centre for a living, socially integrated community. The congregation surrounds the altar in a figurative sense, and the architecture becomes a gesture of unification.

It is readily apparent that particular emphasis was given by the architects to the treatment of light as architectural medium in conceiving the Parish Church of St Luke the Evangelist. Sunlight penetrates the perceived solid volume of the main church hall in a variety of ways, creating interplays of light and shadow appropriate to the religious function of the space. Above the altar runs a band of light, a large and radiant cross emanates from one wall, and roof light cubes enable a diffuse glow to seep through into the interior. These interrelations connect the architecture, atmosphere and sacred purpose of the space with the community it is intended to support and nurture.