Our Lady of Consolation Church

Description

The parish church is situated on a corner plot in a residential area between Historiador Dozy and Francisco Azorín Izquierdo streets. The long side is in front of a green space and the short side faces residential buildings. The rest of the adjoining areas remain undeveloped. To the north and west of the plot, the building is set back four metres from the boundaries. On the north side, the entire area of the setback running the length of the building is occupied by an English courtyard at basement level, to allow light and ventilation and to provide a courtyard that can be accessed by the public.The parish complex is enclosed by a single prism with the peculiarity that the short corner façade is raised to seek the maximum possible light, merging three historically separate concepts: the bell tower, the singular façade and the entrance of light or skylight. The prism is made of white precast concrete with a ribbed base to allow horizontal light to enter. The prism comprises the lobby at the opposite end of the front wall of the chancel, from which there is access to the church, the basement of the local parish church and the first-floor living areas. The entrance to the church has access to the sacristy, the choir area, the main hall and the Capilla del Santísimo (Blessed Sacrament Chapel).The interior space is unified by a flat, convex cloud enclosed in the structure which flows through the space until it is lost in the heights of the skylight. The light fades into the curved plane as it drips down the ceiling of the chancel. This diffused light illuminates the entire church. In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a similar curved plane forms the ceiling, as in the main hall, but instead it rises and falls to accommodate the altar. The unity of the composition as the unity to which sacred architecture aspires makes it possible to integrate sacred art within the idea of the temple. Many artists have contributed their work to the final configuration of the sacred space. The collaborating artists were the following: the altar, the ambo and the temple seat were made by Fernando Pagola, the altar of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel by César Barrio, the Stations of the Cross by José Antonio Ramos, the Virgen de la Consolación (Our Lady of Consolation) by Javier Martínez, the Christs both in the main hall and in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel by Javier Margarit, and the paintings on the ceiling by Pablo and Jaime Ramos.( Description provided by the architects )