Dive into design... Before saying mass

Who knows whether Saint Joseph would appreciate the new parish home of the church of the same name in Zurich. Perhaps he would envy the earthly accommodation of his “colleague”, the Swiss parish priest. Maybe he would even like the brilliant white walls and the celestial ... whoops, we mean natural ... lighting. One thing is certain. Saint Joseph would not have been indifferent to the restyling by Studio Frei + Saarinen.The Swiss studio renovated the parish house of St. Joseph in the centre of Zurich on the occasion of the building’s hundredth anniversary. The main addition is a new wooden entrance which creates a suspended atmosphere.The oblique walls, the modern and faceted geometries contrast with the interior details marked by an antique taste, lending the building a revolutionary style compared to standard Catholic parishes.

The new layout of the entrance extends the previous spaces towards the façades, respecting the original structure; while a new point of light on the roof brightens up the entrance to the hall and thus slows down the dynamic character of the entrance.But the restyling also concerned the priest’s apartment on the top floor, and in particular the structure of his living room with tilted walls in a pentagonal layout. But who knows, perhaps Saint Joseph would have had something to say about this last choice. Symbology does have its own significance. Even outside holy places. Photos via freisaarinen.ch

29 October 2010