HSTARC2: Outline on Parish Of The Holy Sacrifice

On the green fields and the towering tropical trees, a vast vicinity of the University Of The Philippines is established. Within wide campus a historical landmark is located, a catholic chapel named “The Parish Of The Holy Sacrifice.” Known for its architectural design, the church is recognized as a National Historical Landmark and a Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Institute and the National Museum respectively. It was a design similarly falling and inspired on international iconic architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier works of leaping designs of their time.
The project was handily given to 5 national artists on different fields of arts for the collaboration. National artist for architecture Leandro Locsin mainly designed it, alongside with known structural engineer. It was the reason behind the art and architecture on one of the great works in Philippine architecture.




Leandro Locsin (August 15, 1928 - November 15, 1994)

A well respected Filipino architect/interior designer/stage designer who came from a known and wealthy family in Negros Occidental.
Studied at The De La Salle Brothers in Manila yet went back to Negros due to the Japanese Occupation.
Years after he went to University of Sto. Tomas to study Pre-Law but then shifted 3 times and ended up into Architecture.
Locsin is known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various projects.

Some of his works are:

Cultural Center of the Philippines
National Arts Center
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1
Philippine International Convention Center



Award:

He was proclaimed, National Artist for Architecture in 1990 by President Corazon C. Aquino.

Brief History

The church’s plans were originally made for the Ossorio Family on their plans of donating a chapel in Negros Occidental, where the Ossorio’s and Locsin’s hailed. Unfortunately a decision of moving in to the States of the Ossorio’s called off the project.
Luckily in 1955, the University of the Philippines, Diliman Catholic Chaplain, Fr. John Delaney, S.J. commissioned Leandro Locsin to design a chapel that is open and can easily accommodate 1,000 people per mass. Then Locsin had a chance on putting his planned design into a structure, A round and circular chapel. A special project was tasked to him collaborating with great artists whom then become national artists of the Philippines with Locsin. . The Chapel of Holy Sacrifice is the first round chapel in the Philippines with the altar in the middle, and the first to have a thin shell concrete dome. Arturo Luz, the Stations of the Cross by Vicente Manansala and Ang Kiukok, and the double-sided crucifix and altar base by Napoleon Abueva designed the floor of the church.




The construction of the structure didn’t went on a smooth road, of course especially being a new type of architecture in the tropical. The structure’s concrete layers over the dome has been a set back or move thinner from the original thickness cause of the heavy rain that poured while its being constructed.
The first mass in the church was held on December 20, 1955. Since then, there have been modifications and developments to the church and its surroundings. Still a work by Napoleon Abueva, the altar base is changed from wood to marble. The church is now fenced off, and the once open grounds that surrounded the church are now landscaped. The gigantic dome, which used to be white, is now grayish green that was from decades of adaptation into a tropical weather.
With a great history finally the National Historical Institute and the National Museum recognized the church as a National Historical Landmark and a Cultural Treasure, respectively on January 12, 2005. Currently, the parish is spearheading a project that aims to restore the dome of the historic church.

“Masterpiece of Filipino artistry and ingenuity”
by Ambeth R. Ocampo- National Historical Institute Chairman

Design Analysis and Design Details

On my first comeback at the chapel/church over years I just felt astonished and very amazed on a great architecture that was built before my parents were born. I just always will wonder how Leandro Locsin of that time thought of a circular domed church even. Because for me it was a very effective design especially on the common problems of churches nowadays is the heat that strikes Sunday masses. Pillars located at the sides of the church, so that there are no supports to block the space inside, support the dome of the church. Walkway openings on the chapel’s circumferences plus the green landscape provided the breeze that makes the structure and the mass cooler. The slit located on the lower middle of the dome provided the right amount of sunlight to the whole church. The unique design of the dome allows natural lighting and ventilation. At the middle of the dome is a circular skylight, which supports the triangular bell tower. The bell tower then extends to the interior, supporting the crucifix. The idea of the altar at the middle of the church and the arrangement of the interior of the church that s concentric, which is the most practical thing to do on a circular church, is what most amazed me.







Why Parish of The Holy Sacrifice?

When I was a kid, I often dreamt of a church where everybody sits on a circular pattern and the priest is at the middle giving his sermon. I’m not sure if I went into a church design literally in a circular form or I my dad just informed me about it. Cause he usually tells me wonders of architecture since I was 5, and I honestly do not understand a thing. When I got back here in the Philippines permanently for college, i haven’t had the thought of it being real or not. My mind goes “it doesn’t matter.” Maybe it’s just an idea. Maybe I’m the first one to build such structure. As time approached I was assigned to do a research in UP-d by my professor on engineering stuffs. As I finished my research I went walking around the UP campus. Crossing the Halls I then bump in into a circular structure. Walking close I tried to come in and then realized that it was a church. All of a sudden everything just get back on me. This is the one I’ve been seeing in my mind for years.
Well, such great architecture of the country is amazing to be seen and felt when you’re really in the place. I’ve always thought of how minds of architects like L. Locsin worked at their time. How they conceived things in order for them to design such structure that will be a history forever. The circular and dome design has just broken the usuals of church design. And for me it is how we always should think. As time pass, we should be authors not re-writers and cake decorators, my theory combined with Zaha Hadid’s idea.



Trivia

Most churches are rectangular or square in shapes but the Church of the Holy Sacrifice is circle in shape. It is the first circular church and the first thin-shell concrete dome in the Philippines and in Asia.