Seize the Day

Church as a gateway connecting the sacred and the secular is served as both a religious venue and a space for local community to gather and have some classes. The uniqueness of this project is that it won’ t last forever: the landowner voluntarily agreed to lend the church the land for twenty years, but when it’s due, the church will be torn down and the land be returned. Therefore, the designer concludes this project as a Time Church, at which the users and the building can write their own story in the given time, and count down together for the next beautiful journey to come.

The hall is where important events are host, such as the preach or the baptism, so the space is designed to have the attendees look up to engage the spiritual moments. Large scale of stained glass is applied to transform the light, establishing a solemn ambience in a modern design. The office area and teaching area are flexible with moveable partitions to reduce unnecessary idle space. In order to minimize the influence between the rooms, the dynamic and static activity areas are separated and moreover, the stairs on every floor is set at specific spot that suits the floor plan.

Due to the time limit, the building is made of steel. This will minimize the waste of the deconstruction and increase the recovery rate. Unlike the everlasting image of traditional religious buildings, the designer highlights the idea of “seize the day” and hopes to maximize the value of this establishment.

In a place where the land is extremely expensive like Taiwan, the designer accomplishes the mission of building a symbol for the community by meticulous design plan and accurate execution. This project not only stands for the spirit of a mutual respect and cherishing between the architecture and the users, but also echoes the caring mind for sustainability.