Design Studio Project2 - PartB

This entire building is designed to serve a small Christian group as a church. It locates in the rich area in Amsterdam in Netherlands. The Christian member can study, pray and deliver sermons here.
The design of this building is inspired by the oil painting by Jan Vermeer, ‘Woman Weighing Peals’. The young woman in the painting is weighing pearls, standing between the dark background of ‘the Last Judgment’ and the jewelry on the desk.

The balance that she holds has nothing on it, representing that she is comparing and balancing the weights and importance of ‘materiality’ and ‘spirituality’. It seemed that she had reached her conclusion.

My design aims to embody her conclusion. As the church has no glamorous decorations or surface, it has more ‘spirits’ and ‘virtue’ elements hidden behind its simple and plain looking. Every single component of the building serves its own purpose. Each space, the prayer room, the first floor main hall and the second floor library, has its own theme illustrating ‘Acceptance’, ’Absorption’, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Relaxation’ which comprises a journey of human life.

1. The studio in which the pregnant in the painting works, serves as a prayer room with capacity of two people only, the pastor and the person praying. The studio is supported by pillars and it is on the second floor, isolated and quite.

2. Main building of the Christian church. A huge cross-shaped window is positioned on the wall to the west, spreading across the first and second floor.

3. The roof of the main building has a skylight that enables the natural light to penetrate through to both first and second floor.

4. Veranda for site seeing, a stilt floor besides the riverbank. It connects the main building and the prayer room, gives a broad horizon to the praying people and makes people relax.

5. The window of the prayer room. Sunlight can penetrate through this window. The size of the window adjusts the degree of illumination making sure it is not too bright or dark.

6. First floor of the church. Pastors can deliver sermons here. It is a hall that can hold 8-10 people.

7. Library where members can study. Lots of books are stored here. The opening enables people to see through to the first floor. Sunlight from second floor can also be shared to the first floor in this way.