Saint Gabriel of Samtavro baptismal church

This is a project for the temporary church on the site allocated for the construction of Saint Spyridon of Trymithous church with a chapel. It is located at the intersection of Mazurava and Skrypnikava streets in Minsk. The architecture of the building is laconic. The prefabricated frame structures suggest the possibility of its construction in a short time. This will allow the parish to begin liturgical life in its own church and start using the new site before the completion of the main construction.

Project: Saint Gabriel of Samtavro baptismal church
Location: Minsk, Belarus
Capacity: 224 people
Total area: 250,6 square meters
Stage: sketch design
Year: 2021

The temporary church is to the south of the main church at the entrance to the territory from Skypnikava street. According to the general plan of the site, there is a green amphitheater in front of its main entrance. The building is one-story. Its main body is rectangular in plan with a gable roof, as is the body of the sanctuary adjoining from the east. The sanctuary ends with a semicircular apse and has a faceted dome upon a quadrangle. The body of the Sunday school building adjoining on the south side is also rectangular, but has rounded corners and a shed roof. It joins the main body by an open exonarthex, in the southern part of which there are street candelabra. There is a church shop and the entrance to the Sunday school on the right of the entrance to the church. The soleas and the sanctuary rise above the level of the main floor one step high, according to tradition. In the body of the sanctuary the sacristy and the sexton's area functionally stand out. There are separate exits from the sanctuary and the classroom. There is also an extra evacuation exit from the prayer hall. It is suitable for persons with disabilities. Besides the stairs, a ramp leads to it from the sidewalk level.

The structural scheme of the building is a wooden frame. The outer walls and roof are covered with a non-combustible effective insulation of the calculated thickness. The outer wall lining is made of wooden planking of heat-treated wood and lamellas of glued laminated timber or of heat-treated wood too. The layout of the planking is both vertical and at an angle of 45 degrees. Two types of planking widths are used: 120 and 60 mm. The main covering of the roof is painted seam steel. The wooden shingles, traditional for Belarus, are used on the dome. The stained-glass glazing of the western façade has an arched shape. Double-glazed windows are single-chamber pasted with a matte textured film on the inside. This ensures the effect of semi-translucency of glazing. The window glazing of the side facades and the altar is made of transparent colorless glass.

The project is completed according to the main architectural and construction regulations. It has modern forms while maintaining the main functional, liturgical and symbolic features of the Orthodox church architecture.

3D interior schemes

During the coordination with the state bodies, it was necessary to reduce the area of the church at their request. The meeting room had to be cut off. The new shortened version is below: