
"CONVIVIUM"
An underground Soup-Kitchen in Aachen (DE)
I started my research on Fronleichnam Church and its near context. My first aim was to first understand Aachen`s neighbourhood in which the church is set, analyzing the routing of the area and the functions spread around the point of interest. After this investigation, I started diving deeper into the space itself. The visuals to follow will zoom in from the context to the church, then from the subterranean to the very soup- kitchen.
This church seems, at first sight, a simple building, with basic geometric forms, but hides a deep, great system of rules that organize the space following a pattern that creates the balance between the volumes and the spaces. The light in the building was studied to give users a specific atmosphere when entering the church. The line of windows in the higher part of the walls let the upper part of the space be enlightened from a pale and diffuse light. The altar, instead, is characterized by a bigger number of openings on the adjacent wall, this allows the light to fully meet the altar area, as the light in catholic costumes is identified with the ‘Holy.’Besides the geometry and the light, another characteristic of this building is the choice of materials. The volumes are pure white, the spaces are surrounded by clear candid surfaces. Everything that is connected to the earth, the human side, is black instead. The floor, the altar and the benches, where the mundanity resides, are implemented in deep dark shades, as to mark the line between what is human and what is divine.













