Original use
Religious/centre of worship
Current use
Religious/centre of worship
Architects
László Csaba
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
Architectural concrete
Structural types
State of Conservation
Description
This small chapel is located on the top of a hill, surrounded by a coniferous forest on the Hungarian-Slovak border. The town of Hollóháza, where the church is located, is famous for its industrial production of ceramics. Due to the expansion of the porcelain factory, the town was forced to demolish the old Baroque church. The factory financed the construction of a new modern church, but it was not quite to the liking of the town’s inhabitants. Some of the artists and designers involved in the local industry worked dutifully on the decorative ceramic objects for the interior. They praised the geometric simplicity of the new church, with its pure forms and white concrete.
The church is made up of three triangular geometric figures, disconnected from one another other, formed by folded concrete surfaces. The three structures in turn form the nave, the apse (with an adjacent chapel for the tabernacle), and the free-standing bell tower. The nave and apse are connected to one another and closed off from the outside by a series of glass planes. The three concrete figures in conjunction look like a simple exercise in origami; the chapel has also been compared with a tent or the inverted keel of a ship. The envelope of the church is also structural, and the geometric forms contribute to providing stability to the structure, which is made from continuous thin slabs of concrete. A lattice of vertical slats, also made of white concrete, separates the space of the apse from the tabernacle chapel.
Hungary
Rákóczi Ferenc 1
Northern Hungary (Region), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (County) 3999 Hollóháza