1. What set as an identity of a space, is it how it is occupied the materials used, time built?
2. When we state to preserve, what are we preserving?
3. Is it our experience that make a space unique or profane or how it exists in the world?
In her book, Mircea talks about space as it is homogenous and neutral. She states we shall not depend on geometries as a sole definition of space, but rather it is differentiated based on the functions each specific space provides. For a spiritual man, Mircea states for a religious man space is infinite " she states, the religious experience of the Non homogeneity of space is a primordial experience".
Mircea's definition of space is defined by the people occupying it before it is inhabited by people architecture is empty. Unless it is open to the world and is inhabitable or used by people in certain ways, it is like a solid block of stone. She states, 1" Design, construction, and building materials including textures, and above all light—create the space and define its character. Yet beyond this, the space must be furnished and enlivened by an individual alone. Or by those who desire to reside in it. Space has, in addition to an emotional dimension, above all a spiritual, conceptual dimension. It is a space of consciousness or a space of representation, or it is an artistic space."
The values associated with this sense of profane space remain evoke the non-homogeneity unique
to the religious experience of space. Even for a blatantly atheist guy, all these locations have a special, distinguishing aspect. They are the "holy places" of his secret world as if it were there that he had received the revelation of a reality other than the one he engages in via his typical everyday activities.
"In his book Insall provides another perspective on the world and the environment. He offers an ideology. He discusses of buildings and communities, and of the individuality of people, places and buildings. As a result, Insall writes not about shape and surface, but about a building’s identity and character, and about all things changing and civic. He seeks to empathise. His motto is to ‘Bring forth the best’. There are parallels with a great actor whose skill is to empathise with their character in hugely complex and nuanced ways, but who may also feel more comfortable in character. One senses, that most if not all Donald Insall Associates’ works are ‘in character’.
The structure of the book reveals an extraordinary perspective on the conservation of buildings and demonstrates it to be a far more complex and varied field than most architects presume.
Almost half is dedicated to ‘Ten Degrees of Intervention’ – ten chapters with titles ranging from ‘Programmed maintenance,’ to ‘Radical improvement’ and ‘Reincorporating existing buildings’ which together describe a huge range of activities and techniques from the mundane to the most demanding."
The Site and its surrounding Ethiopian tourism is primarily culture and heritage driven with Lalibela as one of the most popular destinations on the Historic Route combining the six significant political and religious towns (Axum, Lalibela, Gondar, Bahar Dar, Addis Ababa and Harar), which over the centuries have had a direct influence in the development, culture, traditions, and politics of Ethiopia. Lalibela and its rock-hewn churches can be described as a living museum where deeply traditional forms of Christian faith have continued uninterrupted for centuries. Vitally, this is a living site where sensitivity to the host community is required. The churches are in daily use for prayer, liturgy, and study, all which tourists are permitted to witness. church found in Ethiopia: first, builtup cave churches, which are built inside a natural cave; second, rockhewn churches are cut inwards from a steep cliff face, sometimes using, and widening an existing natural cave; third, rock-hewn monolithic churches which imitate a built-up structure cut in one piece from the rock and separated from it all around by a trench.
The World Heritage Site of Lalibela consists of eleven rock-hewn churches divided into three groups. The first group consists of six churches which lie one behind the other north of the river Jordan. This group includes The Selassie Chapel or Chapel of Trinity and the Tomb of Adam. The second group of four churches and sanctuaries lie south of the river. The third group consists of only one church, Bet Giorgis, which is in the symmetrical shape of a cross. It lies away from the first and second group towards the southwest of the town on a sloping rock terrace. The churches are invisible as they sink into the undulating landscape. All the churches are linked by a maze of subterranean tunnels and alleys which enter the trench where the church stands. There are three basic types of rock church found in Ethiopia: first, built-up cave churches, which are built inside a natural cave; second, rockhewn churches are cut inwards from a steep cliff face, sometimes using, and widening an existing natural cave; third, rock-hewn monolithic churches which imitate a built-up structure cut in one piece from the rock and separated from it all around by a trench.
There is no known written documentation relating to when the churches were built. However, the churches are generally believed to date from the Zagwe Dynasty (AD 1150- 1270), during the reign of King Lalibela. It is stated that it took twenty-four years. Many of King Lalibela’s courtiers were drawn from the same district and held high ecclesiastical and administrative positions and it is asserted that during his reign he commissioned the construction of the Lalibela churches. Uncertainty over the exact dating of the churches presents an intriguing question that can only be answered through archaeological and geological research and detailed analysis of the different paintings, relics and antiquities inside the churches.
The largest single pilgrimage takes place in early January, during the Orthodox Christmas period. From everywhere, the devout arrive in their thousands, wrapped in white robes, bearing gifts of incense, beeswax candles, as gifts. Some will walk for hundreds of miles, trekking up into the barren highlands of northern Ethiopia, to reach the holy site, such is its importance. During the celebration, Lalibela’s modest population of around 18,000 can explode to over 200,000 people. The celebration can last for up to two weeks. The pilgrims will typically arrive a week before Christmas and stay for another week after. During this period, the church complex transforms into a hive of activity, as the pilgrims attend mass, prayer sessions and modest feasts. In fact, some will rarely leave the compound. “Around Christmas time, a lot of people may just sleep outside around the churches. People will stay around until the celebration finishes.
The rocky massif of the church complex is igneous in origin and primarily made of two types of volcanic basalt. The churches were cut top-down from porous basaltic scoriae parts with chisels, axes, and other blades. Workers traced the circumference of the structure on the rock face first, then isolated the church's primary structure.
Unlike conventional built construction, where the most recently hewn element is at the top, this approach places the most recently hewn element at the bottom. The cathedral builders built drainage channels and tunnels to prevent floods from subsurface rivers and water tables. The tops of the four freestanding monolithic churches slope at the same angle as the rocks from which they were cut, facilitating drainage even further. Other hydraulic systems filled cisterns and baptismal pools, notably the three pools in Biete Mariam's courtyard.
Trenches were excavated in a rectangle, isolating a solid granite block. The block was then carved both externally and internally, the work proceeding from the top downward. Research shows the structures from the churches are either of immense hypostyle chambers, galleries and subterranean rooms cut into the substrate, or of monumental architecture built in dressed stone on the rock's surface. Both construction types show the churches to be occupied before their architectural transformation into a religious Centre under King Lalibela. The phase of the settlement could be traced long before the site was transformed into a Christian religious complex. Which is referred to as ‘Troglodytic’ This term is not intended to have any chronological or ethnological connotation. It is characterized by small entrances to narrow tunnels running a few meters under, and parallel to, the surface of the rock, leading to little dome-shaped chambers. Small flights of stairs also belong to this phase. Though most of these features have been erased by subsequent transformations of the site, some openings can still be observed hanging above the modern level of circulation. In a second phase which is referred to as ‘Hypogean’, the inhabitants of the site continued to occupy, or reoccupied, the galleries of the previous phase but transformed some of them into a network of cubic chambers, heightening ceilings, and ornamenting entrances with Aksumite-like pillars and doorways. At the time, these doorways (today hanging over the
void) connected with open-air courtyards, newly excavated passages deeper in the massif, and with peripheral corridors or trenches that were attached to the interior spaces. Along with this phase are monuments like Masqal and Denagel, respectively north and south of Maryam, and parts of others, such as the central chamber of Gabriel-Rufael. The east part of the courtyard of Maryam, where an ancient circulation level can still be observed and on Bete Gabriel-Rafael, from the north-west. The hanging stairs on the left are witnesses of an original courtyard in front of the Aksumite-style main entrance, while the relic courtyard on the right can only be coeval with the (later) cutting of the façade and opening of new windows and door.
Evaluation of static condition of biet Amanuel. The most critical condition (in red) are the centaral
centaral pillars, under a static l oad of 420-350 kpa, about 10 % of the uniaxial compression strength,
components of stress. The values (KN m-2) are s hown in the colored legends.
Before modern restoration methods started in mid-20th century, local people participated in conserving their churches using traditional means. Elders would mix plant and animal remains with clay to plaster leaking roofs. They applied animal urine to kill algae and the roots of invasive vegetation that grew on the rocks. Local masons rebuilt damaged parts by mixing clay soil and straw over a period of several months. Local residents would flush out water accumulated on the surface to prevent it from reaching the rock bed. The churches were maintained with minimal intervention and the avoidance of materials foreign to the nature of the rock.
Modern restoration methods introduced foreign objects to the churches. The most intrusive method was applied in 1954 when some of the walls of the churches were nailed to accept cement and red paint. On Bete-Amanuel and Bete-Medhanialem churches, the restorers applied a bituminous layer and red ochre ink. The paint smelt profusely and the bituminous layer started to swell and fall off the wall, so
a new technique was called for. The paint and cement were scrapped and the nails forcefully pulled out. This process left massive fractures and cracks especially on the Bete-Amanuel and Bete-Medhanialem churches. Some people call Bete-Amanuel the most tortured of all the churches, with the insertion and removal of the nails leaving the church severely pockmarked and cracked.
Shelters were constructued in 2010 inorder to undergo a preservation work that were being excuted. The shelters were initially intended to "shield the churches from sun and rain and allowing renovation that could not be postponed," according to Chief Architect Claudio Baldisserri (Teprin Associati, 2010 [2003 et.c], p. 5). The shelters' construction has changed the natural exposure of the rocks to rain and sunshine. The look of the parts of the rock that are sheltered by the shelters and the others that are not is noticeably different. Despite its declared aims, this has considerably increased the churches' vulnerability to future rain and sunshine.
Figure 18. Primary Shelter idea sketches
This thesis proposes a new archival space that would provide a place where the cultural and architectural aspects of the building are preserved. Taking design inspiration from the shell structure currently providing shade to some of the churches. Within the new space columns would support the carved-out space of the granite roof. This element also enhances what it feels like to be in a tight space so one would experience the feeling of the pilgrimage time on Christmas. With the help of augmented reality, one would be able to experience a similar simulation in space, the archives space also serves as a place where sacred materials are displayed without necessarily allowing a space to be touched.
The design and tectonics of the new space allow for the simulation of experiences such as circulation, entrance, and various spatial qualities. The new preservation space is subtle in design and is concealed within the landscape. The thesis explores ways in which the building could be preserved without having too much exposure that would distract from the original churches. By hiding and revealing distinct parts of the existing historical site, the new preservation space adds to the existing design by augmenting the user experience.
