0 Reflection and Afterward

2.0 Precedent Study

Figure 2.00. The space formed by tensile roofs with twisted columns in the Church of our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Lola Alvarez Bravo Archive, 1995, Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation 93.6.70.

CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

Felix Candela|Mexico|1954

The church breaks the traditional form of Gothic and reinterprets it by using the hyperbolic paraboloid. The unique structure expresses innumerable light-and-dark effects and creates a sense of solidity and sanctity. Although the structure applies a series of curavatures, the form is still based on linear arrangement. Contrast to the visual expression of the interior heaviness, the actual structure is surprisingly lightweight. The thickness of the concrete shell is only 4 centimeters for most of the area. Candela did not treat the ground as a solid datum, but a malleable urban fabric. The form was like a draped fabric, with points on the surface pulled up by invisible hands. A series of hyperbolic paraboloids are constructed as a continuous envelope, which merges the boundary between the roofness, wallness and planeness.