JFK 2008 – winner of the houses category

The proposal considers the plot of the original church in the village of Prášily in the Šumava region. The original church in this historically rich village was demolished in the 1970s. Currently, the plot functions as an unkempt meadow. This place was already used in earlier times for other "pagan" and later liturgical ceremonies.
The location of the belfry plays a significant role here. The design respects its original "mystical" placement.
The church itself serves as an ideational "addition" to the original demolished church. This relocation gains significance concerning the neighboring building, which the current owners use as a guesthouse.
The forecourt of the church will be paved in the dimensions of the original main nave and will also serve as the staircase for entry.
The composition utilizes the sloping terrain and rotates along the north-south contour of the hill.
Together with the newly designed belfry and the original cemetery, it forms an imaginary axis in the village.
To emphasize the mass, a new leveled embankment will be built.
A new supporting stone wall underlines the dominant role of the building and the overall expression.

The mass of the church is considered as a construction kit made of hollow precast concrete beams. This form draws inspiration from the building structures of the original Šumava timber architecture.
The construction will be delivered in precast parts, assembled in a kit form, prestressed afterwards, and monolithically integrated at the construction site in the wall infills.
The belfry, foundations, roof ridge, and the central vertical “trusses” of the church will be completely monolithically cast from concrete on-site. The roof beams will also be prestressed hollow precast elements.

The interior space attempts to translate simple religious icons into spatial perceptions. Frame-less glazed linear openings create a kind of bundle of rays in perspective, penetrating the altar and the entire building. The window seams are wiped with gold paint to enhance the light atmosphere.
Artificial lighting will be placed in the window seams in the form of optical fibers. Additional lighting will be placed in the floor and will shape the space in a sculptural way with furniture.
The mass of the sacristy and choir projecting from the light will be made of wooden elements and also painted gold.
The church's location on the slope and its resulting orientation toward the cardinal directions does not allow for the classic orientation of the altar – relief cross and sacrificial table – towards the east. This specificity, which is not always maintained in all churches, is adopted from the original church. The solution does not strictly require it due to the high-quality lighting of the sanctuary from both the east and west.
The internal furnishings are considered to be concrete or possibly wooden, finished with gilding or staining. The benches will be wooden, stained in a gray shade.

---

archiweb: The jury had only a few minutes to evaluate each project, saw only one sheet, and could assess only its final form. However, we would be interested in the path and development of the project during the semester. Can you look back and summarize the path of how the assignment was refined, the form was polished, and consultations flourished?

Václav Toufar: I cannot say how the jury proceeded. I believe they did so responsibly and thoughtfully. The assignment was quite clear from the beginning of the semester - to create a new sacred building in the space of the village of Prášily. The volume and content of the project were up to the students. From the beginning of the semester, my perspective leaned toward the simplest possible mass and expressive solution.
Comments from consultations certainly contributed to this.
Consultations - criticisms are, in my opinion, stimulating. Contributions not only from architects Buček and Horatschke are able to move the project from a "crossroads."
The choice itself is always up to the author.

archiweb: The accompanying report for most projects is created on the last night before submission, which corresponds to the stylistic level. The insignificance of the written word goes hand in hand with the public secret that "architects do not read and just look." Could you still describe your winning project in a few brief sentences?

Václav Toufar: It is a new church with a standalone belfry. The interior of the sloped mass of the church feels maximally open up to the ridge. The entire structure utilizing concrete beams loosely connects to the structure of the original "beam-like" constructions of nearby houses. The idea of the interior space is built on simple religious icons: the motif of rays of the shining holy trinity, which are represented by the gaps in the windows and the cross element in the form of a relief made of lines. These motifs flow freely and interact. The belfry rises as a distinct pillar - a staff over the village. The rawness of the material - concrete evokes a certain "rawness" of the given landscape. The golden color in the interior is some kind of embodiment of sunlight. The morphology of the masses endeavors to enrich the "mystique" of the Šumava....... an image is worth a thousand words. :)

archiweb: What did you take away from the festive evening besides the award?

Václav Toufar: A great experience and, of course, a little monkey. :)