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The project for the chapel-font in honor of Blessed John of Ustyug, the Fool-for-Christ

The chapel-font in honor of Blessed John of Ustyug is to be built near the town of Veliky Ustyug in Morozovitsa village. It will stand on the site of the holy spring near the ruined church. This is the place where Saint John lived, in whose honor both the church and the spring were created.
Project: The chapel-font in honor of Blessed John of Ustyug, the Fool-for-Christ
Location: Russia, Vologda oblast, Veliky Ustyug district, Morozovitsa village
Year: 2022
Head of the project: Dmitry Ostroumov
Architect: Maria Koroleva
Artist: Irina Brel
Visualizer: Polina Askarova

The proximity of groundwater and a spring gushing from the ground make it possible to create a font inside the chapel. A staircase leads downwards to the chapel from the church. The chapel itself has a porch-terrace. From the main façade the terrace is covered with a gabled roof with a kokoshnik. The project supposes the possibility of bathing in the font and drawing water in a separate place. The chapel is built on a pile foundation with a metal frame base. The design of the chapel itself involves the combination of wood and metal. The height of the chapel to the base of the cross is 8.125 m. Building area (with terraces) is 23 m². The dimensions along the axes of the foundation are 4500x4500 m. The dimensions of the chapel's interior are 3000x3000 m. The building is unheated and uninsulated. The interior finishing is of wood. The well of the font itself is also finished with wood inside. There will be running water in the bathing font, so that each new person enters the fresh water.
The chapel is richly decorated with carved elements traditional for Northern wooden architecture. The gabled roof is crowned with a cupola with a cross. The cupola and kokoshnik are covered with wood shingle. There is to be a carved icon of Saint John on the main façade at the entrance. Some decorative elements (inlaid crosses, birds, etc.) can be made of ceramics in the form of tiles. The door to the chapel is also carved. Windows can be made either of frosted glass or stained glass. This doesn't let one see the interior from the outside, but allows daylight to pass through.