Dormition Church Center

The church center in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was created for a large settlement. The allocated plot of 1.18 hectares is surrounded by cottage houses, but there is a school, a kindergarten, and stores in close proximity to the center. Therefore, the center itself was designed to become not only the spiritual but also the social and educational landmark. This is echoed by the structure that towers above the houses. The height of the Dormition Cathedral is 27 meters.

All buildings are designed in accordance with current regulations and in accordance with the existing urban planning situation.

Project: Parish Center in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Location: Kalodziščy, Minsk district, Belarus
Capacity: 500 people.
Total area of the property: 1.18 hectares.
Total area of the temple: 545 m²
Stage: draft sketch
Year: 2011

Main zones and their structure:

1. Entrance zone:
- entrance gate
- church pavilion (kiosk)
- church store
- recreational area for parishioners
- hardscapes

2. Temple zone:
- church (500 people) + lower church (150 people).
- small (wooden) church (80 people).
- water blessing chapel (or baptistery)
- crucifix

3. Auxiliary zone (focused on parish, educational and charitable activities):
- parish house
- Sunday school
-restroom
- hotel*
- library*
- rooms for charitable activities.
- refectory*
* are part of the premises of the parish house and Sunday school building

4. economic zone:
- art and crafts workshops
- warehouses
- garages
- prosphora bakery and laundry room

5. Resting area:
- arbors
- playground for children
- hardscapes and environmental design elements

The basis of almost all solutions is the Dormition of the Mother of God. Dormition is the upward movement, lightness, spirituality and at the same time the shield.
This was expressed in the creation of the image of the Dormition Church - upward movement and an indestructible fortress.

Thick walls that expand to the bottom with their silhouettes, support this aspiration and lightness and at the same time set a calm tone, firmness of standing on a solid base and impregnability (the image of the fortress). This creates a kind of connection between the earthly and the heavenly world, expressed in architecture. This sphere is unassailable from the outside like an indestructible wall but also invisibly opening the conceptual sky.
It is this already visible sphere that the main part of the church fits in (the central part of the Dormition Church).

The inner part itself has at its base an equilateral cube with a side of 12 meters, which is an expression of evangelical completeness. The bell tower can be perceived as a candle that is lit before the Mother of God.
All architecture and design solutions of the adjacent buildings follow the subject of the Dormition Church and support it.

Sketches of stone carving for entrance portals and façades of the church were designed for this project. The scenes are dedicated to the Mother of God: Dormition with 12 Apostles in stamps and All Creation Rejoiceth. There are also painted images of holy warriors, symbolizing the spiritual guard, and St. John the Baptist for a niche above the entrance to the lower church, which is consecrated in his honor.