湘南キリスト教会 / 保坂猛建築都市設計事務所

This Protestant church stands in a lush residential area about a 10-minute walk from the sea in Shonan. The 50-year-old church building had become too cramped, and the church decided to build a new church building on a new site. The church members desired to “make a chapel worthy of praising God. In the worship service, they read and listen to the words of the Bible.

Six-panel roof
The six roofs represent the Bible’s first through sixth days of creation, and the worship service represents the seventh day of creation. The roof is also intended to represent the seventh day of product in the biblical account of Genesis.

Manipulating direct light and skylight at different times of the day
The architects decided to use skylight during worship hours (10:30-12:00 on Sunday mornings) and direct light during other times of the day. For this purpose, light simulations were conducted for a representative day of 12 months in 30-minute increments, and natural and skylight were manipulated at different times. This results in a space of soft skylight throughout the year during worship. As the time of prayer approaches the end of the service, direct light begins to draw rays of light on the walls. In the afternoon, the natural light becomes a single ray, and around 3:00 p.m., the direct light pours in like a shower, dynamically changing the expression of the space.

Ribs of sound and light
The RC wall surface of the chapel was carved with uneven vertical ribs in a random rhythm, and dark gray-colored sound-absorbing material was placed between the ribs. The pastor’s sermon and Bible reading were made more accessible with the sound-absorbing material in the concave areas, while hymns and other church music resonated more with the convex RC surfaces, thus balancing the conflicting requirements to a good degree. Flutter echoes are reduced by randomizing the pitch of the ribs. In addition, the contrast between the dark-gray concave surface and the light-gray lightness of the direct light shining on the convex surface is made to stand out against the light. In contemporary church architecture, where a bright space for Bible reading is required, we wanted to realize a light condition where direct light shines in a dark space in a non-dark, bright space.

Direct moonlight
Under the Shonan sky, people attend worship services, read and listen to the Bible in a soft skylight, and have a moment of prayer in a space with dynamic direct light in the afternoon. On nights with a full moon, the dark chapel is illuminated by natural moonlight. We hope that this time and space will harmonize with the nature and landscape of the area and become a church building loved by the people.

Outdoor terra cotta cross
5 kg of sand from the former church building site was collected by Pastor Furuya and kneaded into the terra cotta cross at the time of production to bake the terra cotta cross. We wanted to include the 50-year history of Shonan Christ Church and the congregation’s wishes.

Open gutter
A slit was made in the exterior wall at the re-lower end of the arc to create an open gutter. This allows people to enjoy watching the rain flow through the channel and prevents leaves from clogging the drain despite the leafy pine trees in the environment.

Direct Light and Prayer
For prayer times by one or a few people, having a space where the direct light brings different expressions over time is appropriate. In the afternoon, after the service, the space becomes a space for prayer by a small number of people, and the number and angle of the direct lights change from one to two to three, and so on, moment by moment.

Celestial Light and Worship
In the worship service, we read and listen to the words of the Bible. Direct light shining on the Bible and people is not appropriate for worship. Celestial light is suitable for prayer. For the worship service from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., we planned to create a space with a skylight.

Chapel, afternoon
At the end of the service, when the hymns are sung, only one narrow beam of direct light shines in.

Creation relief tiles
Under each of the six roofs, relief tiles are embedded in the north and south walls, each with a motif of God’s work in the six days of Genesis. Original drawings from the Book of Genesis were engraved on raw tiles one by one and baked. The color of the tiles is a transparent pale blue, inspired by the morning mist, and the six days’ pictures are slightly different in the north and south walls, adding to the fun of finding them not only in the chapel but also in the preparation room, restroom, nursery, and pastor’s office.

Structural Plan
A structural wall-type reinforced concrete structure with a sufficient wall thickness of 300 mm was designed in the longitudinal direction, and a thin-walled Rahmen structure was designed in the shortitudinal direction. The 250 mm thick unidirectional curvature curved slab that makes up the roof functions as a beam utilizing the curvature of the slab and resists horizontal forces as part of the ramen frame. A void slab was used for the curved slab to create an efficient spanning structure, and the walls in the short side direction were structurally fully slit so as not to bear horizontal forces. (Takeshi Hosaka)

Location: 2-12-36 Tsujido Higashikaigan, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa, Japan
Principal use: Church
Client: Religious Corporation Shonan Christian Church
Completion: 2022

Architects: Takeshi Hosaka Architects
Design team: Takeshi Hosaka
Structure engineer: Hitoshi Yonamine, Kazuma Goto / Arup Japan
Sound: NAGATA ACOUSTICS
Constructor: Eiko Kensetsu

Photographs: Koji Fujii / Nacása & Partners

Construction type: New Building
Main structure: RC
Building scale: 1 story
Site area: 416.50m²
Total floor area: 175.96m²
Design term: 2012.10-2013.11
Construction term: 2013.11-2014.06