Horror and Beauty in Contradiction/ Church of Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay. Architects: Claude Parent & Paul Virilio
Front Cover Sketch by Author.
Horror and Beauty in Contradiction/ Church of Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay. (29 Rue du Banlay, 58000 Nevers, France) Claude Parent & PaulVirilio.
Aws A. Hamad K1516080 AR6001
Kingston School of Art, London. Bachelor of Architecture 2017/18
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Content/
Preface . . . . . . .
6
i. Chapter One: Secondary Research Introduction . . . . . . .
7
Building and Architects . . . . . .
8
Two Axes of Research . . . . . .
12
In the Context of Time and Space
17
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.
.
.
Concieving the Design . . . . ii.
Chapter Two: Primary Research
Building Visit . . . . . . . iii.
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28
Chapter Three: Analysis & Critique
Conveying Metaphor . . . . . .
37
Conclusion . . . . . . .
40
Bibliography . . . . . . .
42
Figure Credit . . . . . . .
43
Other Primary Research . . . . .
45
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Figure 1: Nolli Plan depicting Saint Bernadette du Banlay location in dark grey. Scale 1:5000.
Preface/
6
The dissertation will attempt to shed light on the studies of Bunker Archaeology in collision with Oblique Function that were subjugated to the architecture of the church. The research carried out scrutinized the historical and spacial context in relation to the current presence of the church. Documenting the building through a personal visit, I will developed a journal; recording the physical elements and capturing my immediate reaction within the exterior and interior expanse of the church. In conclusion, I will attempt to question the appropriation of Bunker Archaeology and Oblique Function as converging physical elements on the church and develop on the immediate reaction and provoked psyche upon experiencing the building for the very first time, whilst referring to the childhood memoirs of Paul Virilio and Claude Parent in Nazi occupied France.
Figure 2: Street Elevation of the Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.
i. Introduction/
7
Architecture has always been conceived in response to existing set conditions of economic, political and social context, while being at its core, concerned with functional use to accommodate human activity. This process of design follows orthodox principles developed over the human history, shaping our understanding of architecture. These traditional elements have always been the functional approach in designing to create spaces and form. Architects have always relied on these orthodox principles to solve problems through a design process that often erases the artistic quality due to an intensive design process of problem solving to adopt the most economical solution. This raised the question on whether we need a new visual expression of social and cultural structure where architecture is symbolic and monumental, where economic problems demand new solutions. This was realised by the likes of Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1830; “Every major period has established its own architectural style” – “so why do we not try to establish a style for ours? Why should we always build in the style of another period?”1 During the nineteenth century, architects began to transform the classical orders without caution to their historical values, resulting in a confusion of styles, evolving new types of buildings within a post-modern era of architecture. Finding inspiration in abstract art, technology and new building materials; new forms began to evolve, significantly after the Second World War.2 Modern architects such as the likes of Paul Virilio and Claude Parent, began to think of an architecture that is more “human”, where the “body is in tactile relationship with the building”3 in their development of Architecture Principe. Questioning the orthodox methods of designing architecture, Paul Virilio and Claude Parent conceive Oblique architecture, rejecting the Euclidean space of vertical elevation and horizontal axis as the permanent plane for inhabitation that is the geometry of the traditional and the modernist architect. For Parent, oblique is the next evolutionary plane that can generate movement and space for inhabitation. Where Parent explored the evolution of functional planes, Paul Virilio sought to explore a narrative of the past, where the physical architecture portrays a reminder of a dark era in human history. Not grounded by the context of time, Virilio draws inspiration from the negative forces of social conflict in relation to military warfare through a narrative and a childhood memoir which saw the rise of fascism and the horrors of the Second World War within a reign of developing technology that was used as a tool for terror. Virilio’s work interprets a psychological encounter with the Bunker architecture of the Atlantic Wall. This became a key spatial experiment within the architecture of Oblique and the Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.4 1
Georg Germann. As cited by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Gothic Revival in Europe and Britain. Sources, Influences and Ideas. Translated: Gerald Onn. (London: Lund Humphries. 1972) Page: 14.
2
Christian Norberg-Schulz. Intentions in Architecture. Introduction: The Architects. (Cambridge, Massa chusetts: MIT Press. 1963) Page: 18.
3
Mohsen Mostafavi. The Function of Oblique. Introduction - Jacues Lucan. (London: Architectural Asso ciation. 1996) Page: 5.
4
Der Derian & Paul Virilio. The Virilio Reader. Introduction. (Malden, Massachusetts, Wiley-Blackwell. 1998) Page: 16.
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i. Building and Architects/
Situated and constructed in 1966, the Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay was a canvas built to explore two axes of research by Claude Parent and Paul Virilio. The building was an initial response to the Architecture Principe group. The aim of this collaboration was an attempt to investigate a new kind of architectural and post-modern design movement that would see a multidisciplinary collaboration between varying creative disciplines; from painters, sculptors, as well as architects from the early 1960s. Initailly inspired by the architecture of ‘New Brutalism’, a term created in England in 1954 to describe the style of Le Corbusier, Claude Parent and Paul Virilio would later reject the “Manhatten plan” (Fig. 3) and in return develop their own critical theories into urbanism, producing new form of housing and urban plan concepts (Fig. 4) under the banner of Architecture Principe group in the spectrum of Oblique Function, becoming renowned architects, urbanist, philosophers of technology and cultural theorist of the twentieth century.5 The influencee of the Second World War during the childhood would become a significant influence on their development as architects and the realisation of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.6
Figure 3: The Radiant City - Unrealizd urban masterplan by Le Corbusier.
5
John Armitage & Joanne Roberts. On the eventuality of total destruction – Article from City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action. (London: Routledge. 2008) Page: 428.
6
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. A Winter’s Journey. Interview 1. Translated: Chris Turner. (London: Seagull Books. 2011) Page: 26.
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Claude Parent; born in the suburbs of Paris, France, (1923 – 2016) Parent had ambition of following in his father’s foot-steps in becoming an aircraft engineer from a young age, but lacked the mathematical ability. His talent for drawings had presented an opportunity to see a career as an architect. Parent worked for Le Corbusier but never qualified as an architect. Having won his first competition in 1953 for the design of House Drusch (Fig. 5), Parent left to pursue his theory of Oblique Function, rejecting the new Modernist movement and Le Corbusier theories on urbanism. “I was mean to him, telling him that his urbanism was worthless – and maybe I was right, because entire cities inspired by his theory, made of grids of residential towers, did not work”, recalls Parent, in an interview with Purple Magazine. This said; Parent believed he was a “child (student) of Le Corbuiser”, when questioned about his creative use of cement.7 His radical ideas led him to be known as the “Supermodernist” Having found his style, Parent embarked on a career as an architect by designing House André Bloc (Fig. 6) in Antibes, South of France, 1962. While practicing as an architect, designing small residential buildings, Parent had designed an apartment that Paul Virilio purchased while looking for an apartment in Paris. The two formed a partnership two years later - 1963. This would become known as Architecture Principe that will form a collaboration of architecture, philosophy and art.8
Figure 5: Maison Drusch, Claude Parent.
Figure 6: House André Bloc, Claude Parent.
7
Donatien Grau and Olivier Zahm. Claude Parent. Architecture for the Future (Paris, Purple Magazine, 2013) Web Article.
8
Mohsen Mostafavi. Interview with Claude Parent. Page: 49.
10
Paul Virilio; born in the city of Paris (1932-). Virilio childhood memories are set in the midst of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation of France. Son to an Italian communist and a devout Catholic mother, he fled with his family to Nantes in 1939; prior year to the German invasion of Paris.9 Living in German occupied France, his experience had left him traumatized by the infliction of modernised warfare and the collateral and urban damage as a result of German occupation and Allied bombing. His experience shaped his studies and attitude, becoming fascinated by World War Two military spaces. “It’s my university, my father, my mother” - “I cannot but speak about it because it’s my origin”.10 This fascination extruded a set of archaeological studies based on the German coastal defensive bunkers of the Atlantic wall. He culminated these studies in his book Bunker Archaeology, constructing a theoretical written journal and a collective photographic record of his experience and study of these military subjects. Virilio shared a creative background prior to becoming known for his theoretical studies. He practiced as a painter, and had worked with the art of stain glass, working alongside Henri Matisse and helping in achieving the designs for Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence.11 It was through this Virilio developed a network into sacred art which earned him and Parent the commission for the Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.
Figure 7: Stained glass for Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, Henry Matisse.
Figure 8: Stained glass for Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence by Henry Matisse.
9
Benoit Berthou, Sophie Chautard, Gilbert Guislain. 100 hommes qui ont fait la France du XXe siècle. Studyrama. (Paris: Jeunes Editions. 2003) Page: 193.
10
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 3. Page 112.
11
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 2. Page 74.
11
Coming from an art and craft background, working as a master glazier, Virilio had no architectural training but had developed an understanding into the profession working alongside Le Corbusier on the glass of Notre Dame du Haut (Fig. 10). Having started his research into the Atlantic Wall, Virilio was inspired by the architecture of Couvent Sainte-Marie de la Tourette, reminding him of the architecture of the bunker.12 Figure 9: Interior view of Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut , Le Corbusier.
Figure 10: Exterior of Eveuxsur-l’Arbresle, Le Corbusier.
Having embarked on his collaboration of Architecture Principe alongside Claude Parent, his studies on the bunkers of the Atlantic wall soon inform the design for Saint-Bernadette du Banlay and became a major influence on the conceived design of the building. The church became an initial architectural response to this movement and stands as an archetypal creation of the theories pursued by Parent and Virilio.
12 Ibid.
i. Two Axes of Research/
12
The theory of Oblique Function was developed during a moment of crisis, within a post-war France where the economy was weak and entering pre-industrial era where architecture was internationally being informed by technology and function. Giving rise to the vertical steel skyscrapers and the factory chimneys, humanity was learning to use technology to defy gravity and the human nature of moving with the introduction of the automobile. Defying this trend, Parent was not ignorant to the use technology but came as an act of resistance on autonomous use of grid where man became insatiable consumer.13 The development Oblique Function would explore the idea of slope as the “living ground”.14 The intent of this theory was to reject and challenge the orthodox architecture based on the Euclidean space of vertical axis of elevation and horizontal axis as the permanent plane that is the geometry of Modernism and drew inspiration from the Galilean utilization. They claimed an “end” to the “vertical as the axis of elevation” and “horizontal as the permanent plane”.15 The “Horizontal order” is something of the past, a “rural habitat in the agriculture era” and “Vertical order” are of the “urban habitat in the industrial era”.16
Figure 11: Diagram demostrating Euclidean and Oblique surface utilisation by Claude Parent.
13
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 10: Désorientation ou Dislocation. Claude Parent. Page: 153.
14
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 2. Page 88.
15
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 1: La Fonction Oblique. Paul Virilio (Besancon: Les Editions De L’Imprimeur. 1996) Page: 28.
16
Mohsen Mostafavi. Introduction - Jacues Lucan. Page: 5.
13
In turn, they see a resolution in the Oblique order for the post-industrial era. Virilio writes about vertical order denouncing the practicality of having a vertical wall “made inaccessible by gravity� whereas the inclined plane can conform to inhabitation. Parent and Virilio believed that Oblique architecture can generate activity by increasing usable space and also preserving this rare commodity, generating a relationship between the inhabitant and the space, forming a tactile relationship with the building where the architecture is experienced through the quality of movement. Parent and Virilio believed that the concept of Oblique is a more efficient method of creating usable space. They expressed this theory with a diagram which became iconic to this theory. Two intersecting oblique lines create multiplication, in contrast to combining horizontal and vertical which results in addition.
Figure 12: Function of Oblique diagram. Architecture Principe.
14
It is important to establish that the merit of Oblique Function cannot be recognised in the design of church without realising Virilio’s study of Bunker Archaeology which became an exploration into the anti-form, developing a critical response on the use of Oblique, giving metaphor and meaning to the church. Virilio’s work on the theatre of war in relation to speed and power with reference to architecture, art and landscape became a stepping stone in the critical theory and architectural discourse within Bunker Archaeology. Primarily focused on the spatial typology, his studies highlighted the anti-form of reality as being an experiment of the “visible” and “invisible”, where reality was “the art of concealment”.17 The Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay demonstrates the “visible” through the embodiment of an offensive and militaristic expression inspired by the Nazi architecture of the bunker. The “invisible” is depicted through an anti-form of a post-war reconciliation of a regretful and painful memory associated with Nazi occupied France. This expression becomes a necessary metaphor to “come to terms” with the past, exploring the dehumanizing nature associated with total war and totalitarian space. Virilio’s study of anti-form draws on recollection of Virilio’s childhood memories surviving in Nazi occupied Nantes and his bunker archaeology of the abandoned Atlantic Wall ruins. In deliberate contradiction, the architects envisioned bunker architecture as an architecture of survival. Concrete represented a resilient outer shelter that protects the sensitive internals; “the bunker couldn’t be destroyed. Concrete offers life through its protection”.18 A material of resistance that provides sanctuary from external dangers and it was this symbolism of survival and resistance Virilio and his family endured during his childhood living in German-occupied France. Where the enemy forces occupied the city grounds of Nantes, the British and Allies had air supremacy, targeting Germans on the grounds that had also endangered the citizen. For Virilio, this was “a cruel but necessary decisions to bury ‘us’ beneath the bombs intended for the Germans”. People of occupied France regarded the sky both as the “source of death” and “liberatory hope”.19 It is this dual sense of fear and hope that is conjured through the appearance of the exterior and interior of the Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.
17
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 2. Page 95.
18
J.C.S Tappan & T. Andrianopoulos. AA Files 57. Paul Virilio in Conversation. (London: AA Files. 2008) Page: 32.
19
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page 88.
15
Figure 13: Look-out on the Atlantic. Paul Virilio.
Figure 14: Rear Facade of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay. Claude Parent & Paul Virilio.
16
This new movement did fall short of criticism either. Where the design influence of the bunker vocabulary evoked questions in regards to Nazi fortification and its appropriation as a place of worship, the theory of Oblique Function fell under heavy criticism by the contemporary figures within the architecture world. This new approach was seen to promote an unconventional use of space, which creates an alien form of landscape. Radical in form and theory, many of Parent’s design proposals were refused planning permission, but some eventually get built. Clients at times were unsure about the design of the building when initially seeing the plans because it left them confused. In an interview with Purple Magazine; Parent describes the reaction of the nuns to the initial plans of the conceived design. “The nuns cried when they were shown the plans. They didn’t want our church”.20 Virilio expresses the collective guilt that plagued the citizen of the formerly Nazi occupied territory having contributed to the construction of the Atlantic Wall. “My vision appeared to be countered by that of contemporaries… counteracted by resentment” becoming “violently rejected symbols”.21 Parent and Virilio did not concern themselves with the opinion of the public regarding the design of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay but wanted to create a place to explore their theories through experimentation rather than contemplation. Where architecture is formulated in the “rude, implicit state of confusion. Where finish and comfort have not yet grafted”.22 They believed the architecture of the Atlantic Wall was ageless and “prospective”, evoking “cultural memories”, echoing the beton-brute aesthetic of modern concrete and cryptic architecture.23
Figure 15: Oblique landscape. Drawing by Claude Parent.
20
Donathien Grau & Olivier Zahm.
21
Paul Virilio & George Collins. Bunker Archaeology. Preface. (New York: Princeton Architectural Press. 1994) Page: 14.
22
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 4: Nevers Cahntier. Claude Parent. Page: 28.
23
Paul Virilio & George Collins. Preface. Page: 12.
i. In the Context of Time and Space/
17
Located on the River Loire, the town of Nevers is unique for its historical buildings, dating back to the Middle Ages. Much of the architecture is of religious nature in Romanesque and Gothic style. Such significant example is the Cathédrale Saint-Cyr et Saint-Julitta, which is renowned for the stained glass windows. The town was affected by bombings during second World War, damaging the monumental buildings, including the stain windows of the Cathedral that were later replaced in contemporary style. The town is a place of spirituality and pilgrim. Yearly tourist/pilgrims visit the Chapel of Saint Bernadette Sourbirous. Twenty years prior to the completion of the building, the city of Burgundy had seen the Nazi/German military occupation between1940-1944. The town of Nevers played a key boundary in the military geography of France during the initial occupation of 1942. This was referred to as the Demarcation line which separated Northern and Western France (Zone Occupée) from the South (Zone Libré) more commonly known as Vichy France.24 The Germans occupied the multi-crop regions that were at a comparative agricultural advantage where the land was more fertile and the most diverse in their products.25 Faced by blockades and trade restrictions, the following years led to the occupation of the entirety of France due to the heavy influence and economical dependency of Germany on the independent state of Vichy. This division is perhaps a more significant when compared to the Atlantic War in terms of separating the French citizens. Life was very different on each side during the war and sentiment of guilt and blame did not disappear after the Liberation. The church of Saint Bernadette makes a bold statement, suggesting this invisible boundary. The architects, especially Virilio, intended to place this bunker-like church to suggest this boundary, and to become a place of remembrance and healing through confronting the past. “The bunker is a kind of boundary marker that would enable me ‘get to’ total warfare”.26
24
Ian Ousby, Occupation – The Ordeal of France 1940-1944. (New York: St Martin’s. 1998) Page: 45.
25
Richard Vinen, The Unfree French. (New Haven: Yale University. 2006) Page: 89.
26
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page 53.
18
Figure 16: Zones of Occupation in France 1940 -1943. B. Dressler.
19
Post-war France had seen a rise in population in suburban cities due to the migration of French citizens from economically weakened and heavily damaged cities during the war. Large concrete complexes were built to house the citizens on the outskirts of the city where large towers began dominating vineyards and gardens as developing neighbourhoods. The Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay was built in Nevers to serve as a simple chapel for the flocking parishioners. This chapel would adapt to the time of being built and the economic struggle faced by France. The town population averages the same since the end of World War Two. Surrounded by farm land, and containing local industries of wine distilleries, iron goods; the town still sees narrow streets and roads contained by small two-storey detached and semi-detached houses. Somewhere in the surrounding suburbia sits a brutalist building, a concrete experimentation of French 1960s architecture. Like a mass of concrete, the Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay emerges from the ground in its brutal form of concrete. Neighbouring the church; a number of small tower complexes of housing dwarf the building, suggesting a contradictive scale in what original photographs of the building illustrated. Where the farm land was the dictating context of the surrounding, it has now been replaced by urban form of housing and industry warehouses.
Figure 17: The church of Sainte-Bernadette du Banlay under construction, 1965.
Figure 18: Current situation of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay in relation to site.
i. Conceiving the Design/
20
The program was written by Rev. Abbe Bourgoin in 1963 who would be the future priest of the church. The program focused on circulation which appealed to Paul Virilio and Claude Parent, thus inspiring him to participate in the competition.27 Parent and Virilio wanted to convey their research of Architecture Principe and the studies of Oblique and Bunker Archaeology. This would be a complex design of metaphor and theory – a response to the past. “It is a work of youth but a youth that had experienced many things.”28 The architects originally struggled to find inspiration for the design of the building. Virilio explains this struggle as not being “a problem of a cruciform plan or a bell tower, but the fact that we were living in a period without references” where chapels and cathedrals were only recognised for their historical merit. Virilio elaborates that their only existing source of inspiration at the time was atomic structures were being constructed everywhere during the Cold War; at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. The building presents “a memorial to a tragic time of history” where the threat of a third World War was imminent and the concept of annihilation was probable.29
Figure 19: Saint-Bernadette du Banlay, initail sketch study. Claude Parent.
Figure 20: Saint-Bernadette du Banlay, initail sketch study. Claude Parent.
27 28
R. Bourgoin. The birth of the Sainte-Bernadette parish of Banlay and the construction of the church, 48th volume (Nevers, Bulletin of the Nivernais society of letters, sciences and arts; 1999) Page: 168. Frédéric Migayrou. Marie-Ange Brayer & Paul Virilio Interview. Nevers: Architecture Principe. Inter
view with Paul Virilio. (Orleans, France: Editions HYX. 2010) Page: 20.
29 Ibid.
21
The church was dedicated to Saint Bernadette of Nevers. The church would commemorate her short life living in extreme poverty in a small grotto in Lourdes where it is said she witnessed apparitions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. This imagery of grotto and dungeon became a metaphor for the architecture of the church, making the Church Saint-Bernadette du Banlay the place of pilgrimage it is today. The architects admire this metaphor and see it as an opportunity to create an interior space of a protective enclosure for the interior that conceives a grotto.
Figure 21: Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879).
Figure 22: Saint Bernadette kneeling in front of the cave where she experienced her apparitions.
Virilio and Parent sought to understand this religious metaphor to create a space of religious quality. This understanding is expressed by the architects as “a building with a forceful presence eliciting the dual sense of fear and wonder that is often deemed a fitting attribute of religious spaces�.30 This concept creates raptured space, a disequilibrium in emotion. This was a clever game being played by the architects, a significant understanding of space responding to emotion and experience, a consequence of Virilio’s childhood experience during World War Two.
30
Mohsen Mostafavi. Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay. Page: 19.
22
Conceiving the form and materiality, the church takes a monolithic concrete mass, conceiving the appearance of protection and defence through this use of military vocabulary of architecture inspired by the German bunkers. The rough board timber imprint into the concrete shell suggests the brutalist (beton-brut) method of construction. This design aesthetic provoked public criticism. Why was this piece of Nazi inspired piece of architecture ever built? And especially as a church?
Figure 23: Pencil drawing depicting the board timber imprint and window openings of the North facade. (Original scale 1:20)
23
The board-form concrete became a controversial topic due to its totalitarian and hostile appearance. Many architects such as Alison and Peter Smithson, Denys Lasdun and Le Corbusier adopted this style of work - later becoming known as the Brutalist style. Concrete was praised for its cost-efficient use which became a critical factor to the economically struggling European countries. It was a cheap building material that maintained structural strength and sculptural form. The use of concrete was adopted in many social housing projects across Europe as well as places of worship, such as Notre Dame du Haut Chapel, Ronchamp to St. Agnes Church, Berlin.
Figure 24: St. Agnes, Werner DĂźttmann
Figure 25: Notre Dame du Haut, Le Corbusier.
24
Virilio and Parent were not interested in the aesthetic satisfaction intended in the traditional architecture of churches, basilicas and/or cathedrals of the Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque movements but developed a rejection. They were more interested in creating a common space where experimentation replaces contemplation; where architecture is experienced through movement and the quality of movement. They achieved this intent through the scheme of Oblique, where two inversed planes form the sloped naves of the church.31
Figure 26: Section of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay.
31
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 4: Nevers Cahntier. Paul Virilio. Page: 28.
25
The project faced economic struggles which resulted in significant changes in the plans. Initial design intended to hold a capacity of 800 worshipers but was reduced to 600 while maintaining original height. The project was originally conceived alongside a second building which would serve as a detached house for the priest and serve as a bell tower in the style of a campanile.32 The building received building permit on September 28, 1964. Work began in the spring of 1965, past the statutory deadline, work began. The work is carried out without interruption for twenty-three months. Responsible for over-seeing the build was local architect M. Sonnet. This collaboration fell short, relieved from his duties due to disagreements. Thirty companies responded to the tender for the structural work, but none were able to adhere to the budget or even the plans of Architecture Principle. Construction was completed March 1966, and finishing work and the furniture was applied.33
Figure 27: Saint-Bernadette du Banlay, wood model depicting the second part of the church that was never realised.
32
R. Bourgoin. The birth of the Sainte-Bernadette parish of Banlay and the construction of the church. Page: 168.
33
Church of St. Bernadette, Dossier Frac Center Archive. Leaflet.
26
The expressive form did not use a particular technique of construction which required the engineers to integrate a new technical system to support the concrete dead load. The construction is a reinforced concrete shell that uses a concrete longitude beam structure that supports the sculptural form and rest at the cantilever of the nave. To limit weight, the roof uses a metal floor with a wooden frame that is weather sealed.34
Figure 28: Construction drawings depicting the concrete beam structure. Architecture Principe Group.
Figure 29: Construction drawings depicting the concrete envelope structure. Architecture Principe Group.
34
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. N0 4: Nevers Chantier. Technique. Page: 61
27
The plan of the building is based on a conjoining of two shell-like spaces that interlock and split the Altar from the confessional space, disregarding the standard crucifix plan of the traditional church. Parent was inspired by the use of the hexagon for the plan. It is an extremely rare form, for a church. Claude Parent was interested in the plans on hexagonal frames of Frank Lloyd Wright; he appreciated the opening of the space generated by the angle at 120°.
Figure 30: Ground Floor Plan of Saint Bernadette du Banlay. Refer to
page 46 for accurate scale.
Figure 31: First Floor Plan of Saint Bernadette du Banlay. Refer to page
47 for accurate scale.
ii. Building Visit/
28
Arriving in the town of Nevers; you are instinctively reminded of French suburban French town touched by industrial revolution depicted by Haussmann buildings neighbouring modern developments. A historical town renowned for its historical infrastructure dating back to the middle ages. The town features the iconic Haussmann town planning with Romanesque and Gothic architecture cathedrals and chapels. Such significant example is CathĂŠdrale Saint-Cyr et Saint-Julitte that is renowned for the stained glass windows. The city of Nevers is a place of spirituality and pilgrim. Yearly tourist and pilgrims visit the Chapel of Saint Bernadette Sourbirous.
Figure 32: Aerial view of Nevers, France.
Figure 33: CathĂŠdrale Saint-Cyr et Saint-Julitte, Nevers.
29
Visiting the church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay; a 30-minute walk from Nevers city centre, the narrow streets lead through the town, passing monumental statues and green open spaces. The streets eventually give to wide roads on what seems to feel like the outskirts of the city. Wondering through the narrow country road, the place feels mildly inhabited, often a car or a pedestrian would journey by. Pavements are narrow and rough, stone walls with old timber sliding barn entrances often line the street with branches extruding over the walls onto the street. Walking through the narrow street, you are met with an unexpected patch of open greenery and in the distance sits an alien form of concrete, dominating the landscape, a reminder of Virilio’s bunker. The peripheral entrance is marked by two large oblique stone standing plaques, commemorating the legacy of the building and architects. A pebble concrete sealed directs you through the surrounding overgrowth that echo the chirping of insects, a Deja-vu of a deserted beachside. Monolithic in form, the building gives a general impression of mass. The two cantilevered concrete shells fit into one another.
Figure 36: Old barn door.
Figure 34: Road leading to Saint-Bernadette du Banlay, Nevers.
Figure 37: Saint-Bernadette du Banlay in the intrusion of the street.
30
Figure 38: Sketch of the church surrounding.
31
Reaching the large aluminium doors embedded in the recessed threshold, the building feels dominate and austere. The rising of volume and mass above the ground is spectacular, suspended curved mass illustrates the characteristics of the bunker. Horizontal window slots pierce the concrete, resembling the opening of a bunker, and horizontal slots become the fracture lines between two slightly offset shells. The untreated concrete faรงade raw insight and feel reveal the board form of construction, slightly revealing traces of timber pattern that has been weathered dark. This cryptic appearance and curved mass resemble that of a rock. Yet, we are reminded the purpose of this building through a large, pinned iron crucifix on the faรงade. Standing under the concrete overhang facing the simple aluminium doors, one can only be intrigued as what the heavy envelope conceals behind the mass of concrete.
Figure 39: Aluminium doors, also the main entrance.
Figure 41: Large Iron cross.
Figure 40: Concrete over-hang threshold.
32
Walking into the church, you are immediately met with a foyer with large steps that ascend to the nave. The small foyer is an open plan lobby consisting of a Baptistery and Sacristy adjacent the stairs on the right side, both finding refuge within the recess of the concrete interior. Upon entering, a small chapel that is separated by a concrete partition that is accessed through a narrow threshold divided by a curtain. The room serves as a space for the daily sermon when services are not being performed in the main hall. The space is lit through the horizontal openings; light guided by the diagonal concrete ceiling. Within the extrusions of the lobby a secondary staircase that leads to the main hall, serving as a side entrance to the main hall for the late-comers. The ground floor and lateral staircases are of raw concrete, while the central stair is made of stone.
Figure 42: Entrance Foyer.
Figure 44: Baptistery.
Figure 43: Small/secondary chapel.
33
Ascending the central stone staircase, you are immediately lifted to the centre of the nave where the vocabulary of the cave and language of cryptic architecture is presented through the concrete curvature and organic form of the walls and ceiling; a metaphor of Lourdes cave. The space is dimly lit through projection from the lanternon that fractures the ceiling into two. The curved concrete beam structure is visually present in the formwork of the interior. The congregation space is broken by two inclined planes, converging at the centre where you enter through the staircase. The nave diagonally ascends up to the Altar, Ambo the Tabernacle that are naturally illuminated by floor-lights at the base of the wall. Three mechanical lights hang from the concrete structure. This manner of lighting occurs on the opposite, where the confessionals are located. Electrical equipment for the microphone alter and the choir. Two speakers installed separately on each end of the church. At the opposite end, two curved partition walls make the confessionals. The seating is intelligently organised in a manner where all visiting members can see one-another while seated. This is made possible by the sloped surface that descends down to the centre and having a raised Altar; similar to that of Saint Peter’s Square by Lorenzo Bermini on a smaller scale.
Figure 45: Ascending stairs.
Figure 46: View from the back.
34
The smooth surface of the interior walls contrast with the washed gravel concrete surface of the nave. Where the ground floor is divided by the natural slope of the land, the rear section of the ground floor sits lower to the front. The rear plan of the ground floor consists of a meeting room and Catechism room that is illuminated by a large glass wall, held by aluminium posts. The rooms are now used to host local members of the public during ceremonies. Stair rails are made from smooth aluminium, similar to that used for the main doors.
Figure 47: Lower ground floor Catechism, now a classroom.
35
The building uses natural lighting devices through windows that use stained glass in congregation space and glass for other parts of the building. Where the building had suffered minor vandalism, the windows have been replaced with acrylic glass to protect the interior from weathering. The damaged stained glass was externally covered using acrylic glass to avoid further damage. The small openings that illuminate the base of the wall at the nave and Confessional are only possible by the reflected exterior light. Large horizontal openings on the faรงade which intended to illuminate the lateral stairwells have also been replaced with acrylic glass.
Figure 48: Damaged stained glass.
Figure 50: Windows near the lateral stairwell.
Figure 49: Floor lighting behind the Altar.
36
The furniture of the church consisting of Baptismal Font, Altar and Ambo were carved from a local volcanic stone by French sculptor, Morice Lipsi, a member of Architecture Principe. Monolithic in form, they evoke the natural flow of water. Raised to my attention by my guide, the Baptismal Font didn’t have a draining system which pro-longed the efforts of emptying. The Tabernacle was carved from the granite of Haute-Savoie, Switzerland, which contained the sacramental wine. The stained glass was designed by, Odette Ducarre and tapestry by Michel Carrade; all members of Architecture Principe. The Bell was recovered from Algerian coastal city of Mers el-KÊbir where churches transformed into mosques.35
Figure 51: Tabernacle.
35
Figure 52: Baptismal Font.
Figure 53: One of many tapestry pieces in the church.
La Semaine Religieuse: Revue du Culte et des Bonnes Oeuvres. Nevers. (Paris, Potter; 1965) Article.
iii. Conveying Metaphor/
37
The architecture of The Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay is an architecture of metaphor, centred around philosophy and theory; a manifestation of memories of the past, predictions of the future, where perception of reality is consistently being questioned. To understand the architecture of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay, it is important to acknowledge the influence of the Second World War on the design of the church. Virilio was inspired by this period, becoming obsessed in the aftermath aesthetic and the dehumanising character of total war. This architectural expression is conveyed through Virilio’s archaeology of the Atlantic Wall which is seen as the anti-form that is a “rapture in the apprehension of the real”.36 It is undeniable that the church as a building imitates the Nazi military infrastructure of the bunker, utilising form and material. Provoking this belligerent appearance, the architects deliberately sought to evoke a state of abandonment that questions “the reality of occidental geometry” where the architectural expression is that of a state of adversary, where the “decrepit appearance” renders a “silent witness to a warlike climate”.37 Embracing the past; the building becomes an offensive symbol in the post-war era, associated with a shared guilt of the Nazi occupied France that had cooperated with the German authority during the Second World War. Bunker Archaeology forms a collective reminiscence of a moment in history, resulting in a cultural memory of a shameful and painful period in the national history. Like a work of art, the building exists as a still-life that pays tribute to the catastrophe of total war and the idea of totalitarian space – a tool for self-reflection to the recent past. The building spawns a “conscientious objection” of reality, exploring the anti-form of destruction of the landscape. According to Virilio; to view the building represents “the form of the travel of the displacement of the observer”,38 redirecting perception of “someone looking on passively at events” to transform a physical experience into a physiological involvement.39 To experience the architecture, it is to generate a response upon initially witnessing the building, and in sequence physically reacting to the space and later intellectually become engaged in the subject of the architecture. It is this ‘making sense of experience’ Virilio contemplates in his design process of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay and his childhood experience of the Second World War.
36
David Cook. Paul Virilio: The Politics of “Real Time”. (ctheory. 2003) Web Article a119.
37
Paul Virilio & George Collins. Preface. Page: 12
38
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 2. Page: 70.
39
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 2. Page: 68.
38
Virilio and Parent take inspiration from Bernadette’s apparitions in the grotto of Lourdes to create a metaphor. It is this archetype of grotto that is borrowed into the ‘miserable’ form of the church. “These heavy grey masses with sad angles and no openings excepting the air inlets and several of staggered entrances…”40 This expression of shelter is a reimagining of Virilio’s childhood, confronting the past, taking inspiration from the inclined ground plane caused by the shifting coastal erosion of the sand dunes beneath the bunkers to create a “condition of obtaining conscious participation in the architecture” and “the Oblique Function is the only way of incorporating this potential, making it palpable to man.”41 In theory, the Oblique refers to the bodies point of contact with the surface, where the inclined slope is ascended, descended and traversed. This creates an architecture that is choreographic, engaging the body physically and in consequence, psychologically. The architecture of the Oblique becomes “a culture of the body that plays on the emotional and physical disequilibrium that regards man not as static but in motion and takes the dancer as the model of the human being”,42 generating “habitable circulation”.
Figure 54: The dancer and oblique surface.
40
Paul Virilio & George Collins. Preface. Page: 12.
41
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. No 3: Le Potentialisme - Structure. Claude Parent. Page: 48.
42
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 3. Page: 104.
39
The marrying of the Oblique and Bunker Archaeology create a disturbance to the rhythm of circulation, and metaphorically; life; evoking a disequilibrium in emotion. In the recollections of Virilio; this disturbance of rhythm was a resulting nature of experiencing terror and seeking refuge as a war-child. “We moved out of Paris to take refuge in Brittany with my mother’s family – but destabilization of the rhythm of life and the rhythm of relations with others”. Oblique expresses this meaning of “relation with others”,43 through the inclined surface that allows all members of the church to see one-another during congregation, building a sense of trust. Virilio expresses the imagery by recalling on memories of distrust and the fear of “otherness” during moments of “xenophobic racisms”. “Where there is war, you’re uncertain of other people’s friendship, of trustworthiness of the person alongside you”.44 To be within the confines of the church, is to be in the midst of war where fear and suffering is experienced on the horizontal and hope on the vertical, emphasised by the lanternon fracturing the ceiling of the church into two shells. Virilio refers to this as “Sky’s arrival in war”. This creates a dual sense of fear and hope, a common attribute of religious spaces.45 Virilio and Parent believed in the architecture of anti-form that sees aesthetic through the unveiling of memories. The architecture becoming a “conscientious objection”; a new form through the perception of anti-form where the internal and external physical space is experienced, creating a psychological transition in perception. This influence on perception of the human body is hypothetical of “heaven and earth”, where the sky and ground converge in anti-form. The physical scaling of the Oblique surface generates an effort to ascend, a sentiment of suffering that will give “rise toward the sacred”,46 that is the altar – God’s mercy.47 This image of struggle reminds us of Jesus carrying the cross on his way to crucifixion or the struggles endured by Saint Bernadette during her short life living in extreme poverty – in a small grotto in Lourdes – to later become more in touch with the divine. It is this bridging between the “human and the divine” the church of Saint Bernadette attempts to breach.48
43
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page: 7.
44
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page: 11.
45
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page: 27.
46
Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 10: Désorientation ou Dislocation. Claude Parent. Page: 153.
47
Marie-Ange Brayer & Paul Virilio. Interview with Paul Virilio. Page: 20.
48
Marie-Ange Brayer & Paul Virilio. Interview with Paul Virilio. Page: 22.
iii. Conclusion/
40
The Church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay holds a true testament to the architectural discourse of Claude Parent and the radical, socio-historical grounded thinking of Paul Virilio. Where the work of both architects was forward thinking, their theories invited critique and analysis in the spectrum of politics, art, literature, science and foremost, architecture. Conceived to honour Saint Bernadette of Nevers, the project was an ideal space for Parent and Virilio to test their theories of Oblique Function and Bunker Archaeology. In this thesis, I’ve attempted to shed light on the architectural vocabulary of the church, recognising the building for its complexity in the anti-form that raises contradiction within the idea of perception of reality in the visible and invisible. It is one thing to perceive the form and materiality, yet, it is of another to understand the metaphorical value exemplified in the church. The church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay embodies humanistic architecture which Virilio refers to “sacred humanism” in anti-form. This is carried out through aesthetic of exposure to the past which involve the unmasking of memories, evoking a “rupture in the apprehension of the real”.49 The architectural manifestation of rapture subverts modernist design principles, which, for Virilio and Parent meant returning to the origins of architecture – the origins of perception. In their article on sacred architecture, also referred to as “architecture of transfer”, Virilio and Parent explain their return to the original geometry of the crypt and its potential for supporting life on the oblique. This “reconstructs a mirror image of modernity’s achievement, of a return to its principles” where the architecture can only be understood through an exposure to the past, an investigation into the anti-form and perception of reality where history “multiplies memory into narratives”.50 The church of Saint-Bernadette du Banlay should not be characterised in the theme Nazi occupation of France, but rather form contemplation into symbolism, to free our thought into sympathy by facing up to painful memories of the past. “to stop thinking about the Second World War and Auschwitz is to forget the reality of horror of war and the violence of extermination”.51 The accommodation of both Oblique and Bunker architecture must be considered for their contradictory qualities. The architectural discourse of the church created in contradiction of good and evil. A reflection into double-edged nature of thought, elevated in the conscious and unconscious state of experience. The building as a reminder of total war maintains “peace through absolute fear” at a time where nuclear war raised a “collective fear of the end of the world.”52 To understand the building, is to come to terms with the “perversion of taste that makes us enjoy horror”. To experience the church is to be Nero, joyfully yearning to see Rome burn. A joyful contradiction of horror and beauty is elevated.
49
Paul Virilio & George Collins. Preface. Page: 14.
50
50 - Frédéric Migayrou. The Architecture of Claude Parent and Paul Virilio 1963-1969. Page: 29.
51 Paul Virilio & Michael Degener. Negative Horizon: An Essay in Dromoscopy. London: Continuum. 2005. Page: 38. 52
Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. Interview 1. Page: 60.
Figure 55: Nero, and ther burning of Rome.
END.
Bibliography/
42
1 Georg Germann. As cited by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Gothic Revival in Europe and Britain: Sources, Influences and Ideas. Translated: Gerald Onn. (London: Lund Humphries. 1972) 2 Christian Norberg-Schulz. Intentions in Architecture. (Cambridge, Mas sachusetts: MIT Press. 1963) 3 Mohsen Mostafavi. The Function of Oblique. (London: Architectural Association. 1996) 4 Der Derian & Paul Virilio. The Virilio Reader. (Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell. 1998) 5 Paul Virilio & Marianne Brausch. A Winter’s Journey. Translated: Chris Turner. (London: Seagull Books. 2011) 6 John Armitage & Joanne Roberts. On the eventuality of total destruc tion – Article from City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action. (London: Routledge. 2008) 7 Donatien Grau and Olivier Zahm. Claude Parent. Architecture for the Future. (Paris, Purple Magazine, 2013) Web Article: 08 December 2017. 8 Benoit Berthou, Sophie Chautard, Gilbert Guislain. 100 hommes qui ont fait la France du XXe siècle. Studyrama. (Paris: Jeunes Editions. 2003) 9 Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. (Besancon, Les Edi tions De L’Imprimeur; 1996) Text translated by Aurthur. 10 J.C.S Tappan & T. Andrianopoulos. AA Files 57. Paul Virilio in Conver sation. (London, AA Files; 2008) 11 Paul Virilio & George Collins. Bunker Archaeology. Preface. (New York, Princeton Architectural Press; 1994) 12 Ian Ousby. Occupation – The Ordeal of France 1940-1944. (New York, St Martin’s, 1998) 13 Richard Vinen, The Unfree French. (New Haven, Yale University, 2006) 14 R. Bourgoin. The birth of the Sainte-Bernadette parish of Banlay and the construction of the church, 48th volume. (Nevers, Bulletin of the Niver nais society of letters, sciences and arts; 1999) 15 Frédéric Migayrou. Marie-Ange Brayer & Paul Virilio Interview. Nevers: Architecture Principe. (Orleans, France: Editions HYX. 2010) 16
Church of St. Bernadette, Dossier Frac Center Archive. Leaflet (Read by authur while visiting the church).
17 David Cook. Paul Virilio: The Politics of “Real Time”. (ctheory; 2003) Web Article a119: 15 December 2017. 18 Paul Virilio & Michael Degener. Negative Horizon: An Essay in Dro moscopy. (London: Continuum, 2005)
Figure Credit/
43
Fig. 1: Nolli Plan by Aurthor. Fig. 2: Photograph by Aurthor. Fig: 3: Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / F.L.C. Fig. 4: Diagram by Claude Parent. Fig. 5: Photograph by Dominique Delaunay. Fig. 6: Photograph by Gilles Ehrman. Fig. 7 & 8: Henri Matisse, Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence. Royal Academy of Arts, London. Fig. 9: Photograph by Paul kozlowski. Fig. 10: Photograph by Olivier Martin-Gambier. Fig. 11: Diagram by Claude Parent. Fig. 12: Diagram by Architecture Principe Group. Sourced from Mohsen Mostafavi. The Function of Oblique. (London: Architectural Association, 1996) Ffig. 13: Paul Virilio & George Collins. Bunker Archaeology. Preface. (New York, Princeton Architectural Press; 1994) Fig. 14: Claude Parent, Paul Virilio. Architecture Principe. No 5. Circulation Habitable. (Besancon, Les Editions De L’Imprimeur; 1996) Fig. 15: Drawing by Claude Parent. Fig. 16: Zones of Occupation in France 1940 -1943. B. Dressler. Fig. 17: Screen-print image from short-film: L’Eglise Saint-Bernadette de Nerves. France 3 Bourgogne. http://www.pourquoichercherplusloin.fr/episode/leglise-saint-bernadette-de-nevers. Fig. 18: Photograph by Aurthor. Fig. 19: Sketch by Claude Parent. Fig. 20: Sketch by Claude Parent. Fig. 21: Image sourced from Sainte Bernadette Soubirous: 1844 – 1879. Aurthor: Francois Trochu. Fig. 22: Unknown. Fig. 23: Drawing by Author. Fig. 24: Werner-Düttmann-Archiv der Akademie der Künste, Lücking/Lommatsch. Fig 25: Image sourced from Le Corbusier (Domus 288 November 1953) Fig 26: CAD drawing of Saint Bernadette du Banlay by Author. Fig 27: Wooden Model of Saint Bernadette du Banlay by François Lauginie. Fig. 28 & 29:
Construction drawings by Architecture Principe Group.
44
Fig. 30: Ground Floor plan of Saint Bernadette du Banlay by Author. Fig. 31: First Floor plan of Saint Bernadette du Banlay by Author. Fig. 32: Aerial view of Nevers, France. Google Maps. Fig. 33: Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cloudsoup/36355882/ - 03 January 2018. Fig 34: Photograph by Author. Fig 35: Photograph by Author. Fig 36: Photograph by Author. Fig 37: Sketch by Author. Fig 38: Photograph by Author. Fig 39: Photograph by Author. Fig 40: Photograph by Author. Fig 41: Photograph by Author. Fig 42: Photograph by Author. Fig 43: Photograph by Author. Fig 44: Photograph by Author. Fig 45: Photograph by Author. Fig 46: Photograph by Author. Fig 47: Photograph by Author. Fig 48: Photograph by Author. Fig 49: Photograph by Author. Fig 50: Photograph by Author. Fig 51: Photograph by Author. Fig 52: Photograph by Author. Fig 53: Photograph by Author. Fig 54: Image sourced from Architecture Principe Group. Sourced from Mohsen Mostafavi. The Function of Oblique. (London: Architectural Association, 1996) Fig 54: Nero and the Burning of Rome by Henry Altemus (1897)
Other Primary Research/
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Drawing to scale (1:100) on A4 page.
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Drawing to scale (1:100) on A4 page.
Vectorworks Educational Version
Other Primary Research
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Vectorworks Educational Version
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Drawing to scale (1:100) on A4 page.
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