(text is machine translated by DeepL)
"In a world of constant visual stimuli and advertisements, the church should offer undisturbed peace and a place to gather," explains the architect Marek Štěpán from the Faculty of Architecture BUT. His church in Sazovice was selected as one of the best buildings in the world, and he also lectures on sacred architecture at his alma mater. His projects also include funeral buildings - for example, the restoration of the dilapidated ceremonial hall in Židenice in Brno, which should begin next year at the latest.
THE INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BE THE OPPOSITE OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD, SAYS ARCHITECT MAREK ŠTĚPÁN
Your studio won the contract to restore the ceremonial hall of the architect Ivan Ruller, which has been decaying in Židenice for 15 years. Do you have a personal connection to the space?
Not even a place. Rather, to Ivan Ruller, who was once the dean of the Faculty of Architecture at BUT and I studied with him. We won the contract in a tender. The topic is close to us, because in the studio we focus not only on sacral architecture, but also funeral architecture, which includes ceremonial halls. Both themes have an afterlife or eternal life.
What is special about the architecture of the Jewish Hall?
Ruller designed it in the 1980s and was inspired by Greek mythology, where Charon transports a mortal from this life to the other shore. And it is precisely the crossing by Charon's boat that is depicted in the floor plan of the ceremonial hall. In the first drafts, the water element is even considered, the coffin with the deceased is as if on the other bank. That's the basic idea. The building is based on the horizontal - on something that is calm and connected to the earth. The hall where the ceremony takes place emerges from this in a dramatic curve. It's a simple modernist composition.
The hall has been ransacked in recent years - what is its current state?
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Operation was discontinued due to high maintenance costs. The building was not guarded then, so someone stole the copper covering from it. Water began to seep into the hall and the space has been in disrepair ever since. Fortunately, the thief had no idea that he would make a lot more money by stealing works of art. Ivan Ruller knew many artists, which is why there are valuable pieces here - a glass sculpture by Valér Kováč, an outdoor sculpture by Olbram Zoubek, a gate by Zdenek Makovský and a relief by Tomáš Ruller.
The full interview is available at zVUT.cz
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