The House of Prayer by Franek Architects | Church architecture / community centres

Photographer: Jakub Skokan & Martin Tuma / Boysplaynice

The fifth façade, i.e. the roof of this building is the bearer of all essential information about the building. It has been abstracted to its maximum. A roof without any details is like a way running into infinity. The means of showing the way was a fair-face concrete outside the building and plywood board inside of it. Vertical movement and its visual representation is a dilemma of most religious buildings.

The connection between Heaven and Earth need not necessarily be a monologue. It can be an invitation for a journey, and for a gradual ascent up from the dirt of this world. In this case, the ascent to the light, which has been depicted by excellent Czech graphic artists with their minimalistic illustrations. The symbol at the end of the journey has its strong haptic light quality as a clear target.

"A simple paper puzzle reminds me the eastern inspiration I got while working on this task. Eastern and western cultures meet here in a universal unity. The program of the building is to serve the religious and social life of the community, which is the investor. The preacher and his family occupy the second floor. The house was built for half the original budget".
Zdeněk Fránek

Fránek Architects
Zdeněk Fránek

David Karásek, Mmcite
DKarel Malich
Václav Cígler

Photographer: Jakub Skokan & Martin Tuma / Boysplaynice

Photographer: Petr Polák | Studio Petrohrad