Description

Erected for the World Expo, the Christus Pavilion is a rational and innovative building but nevertheless manages to create a monumental and majestic atmosphere, particularly inside. Its regular bay module of 3.4 metres, and restricted palette of steel, glass, marble and concrete underline this intention. The ensemble consists of an arcade, a cloister, courtyard, tower and pavilion. One enters via a gangway that passes through the 58 metre long and 14 metre high arcade, over a pool and through the cloister before arriving in the courtyard. In the left-hand corner, a steel and glass tower with the cross section of a cross reaches 27 metres into the sky. On the right-hand side, one sees the entrance to the Christus Pavilion with its three tall, symmetrically placed portals.

In terms of construction, the pavilion is a simple “table top” on “table legs”. The interior measures approximately 18 by 18 by 24 metres in which nine black columns stand. Each of these is made of four steel angle profiles which project at the top to form a capital; a rooflight is positioned directly over each of these. The paved concrete floor area is divided clearly into two halves. The left-hand zone is empty, the right-hand zone contains the pews and liturgical objects, all made of oak. The altar stands on a podium in front of a glass cabinet containing a steel cross. Beneath the altar area is the crypt, a rounded freeform shape made of concrete.

Inside the pavilion, the lower sections of the walls are clad with black steel panels, providing a visual plinth. The upper sections are made of specially developed stone-glass panels. Each panel is 1.69 by 1.69 metres large and consists of a 10 millimetre thick marble panel bonded to a 12 millimetre thick glass panel with 1.5 millimetres of bonding resin. The panels are translucent and lend the walls of the pavilion an alabaster-like appearance. The stone-glass panels are supported externally in each corner by stainless steel fixtures attached to a lattice framework of vertical and horizontal steel members.

In contrast to the pavilion, the cloister appears lighter and more animated. With a width of 3.4 metres and a height of 6.8 metres, the cloister’s dimensions are defined by the bay module. Inserted into the framework of the cloister are dual-skin glass panels, each of which is filled with thousands of familiar objects, both natural and technical: one panel contains bamboo canes, the next plastic tubing, the next poppyseed heads, thereafter light bulbs, tea leaves, cogwheels, and so on. Despite their common geometry, the cloister and the pavilion alternate between the profane and the sacred.

In summer 2001, the Christus Pavilion was disassembled and re-erected in Volkenroda in Thuringia, Germany, though without the arcade, tower and crypt. The modular construction of the architecture was designed specifically with this eventuality in mind.

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Originally published in: Rudolf Stegers, Sacred Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2008.