Project Name
Peter the Apostle and St. Helen the Martyr Chapel
Posted in
Religious
Location
Pafos
Cyprus
Architect
Michalis Georgiou
Project Team
Architectural Design: Michail Georgiou, Theresa Kwok. Structural Design: Odysseas Georgiou
Area (sqm)
56
Completed
July 2015
Detailed Information
Project NamePeter the Apostle and St. Helen the Martyr ChapelPosted inReligiousLocation
Pafos
Cyprus
ArchitectMichalis GeorgiouProject TeamArchitectural Design: Michail Georgiou, Theresa Kwok. Structural Design: Odysseas GeorgiouArea (sqm)56
CompletedJuly 2015

While in the Catholic church there is a fair amount of liberty in how temples are designed, very little has changed in the Greek Orthodox tradition in this regard since the Byzantine era.. In fact, religious architecture in the Orthodox Christian world is perhaps its most conservative aspect, since even its music and rituals have evolved over time, while the architecture has stayed the same. This is why this humble little chapel in Paphos, Cyprus, stands out: designed by Michalis Georgiou and Theresa Kwok, the chapel of Peter the Apostle and St. Helen the Martyr introduces contemporary materials and a daring design that creatively reinterprets the Byzantine church typology.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

The result of a collaborative process, the chapel achieves its streamlined minimalistic purity and grace by means of abstraction: ornamentation has been eschewed altogether, and architectural elements such as the bell tower and the sanctum have been merged into the main volume to create a single, compact architectural object. In section, the building looks like a stylised reinterpretation of a typical Greek church which was then extruded in order to create the necessary volume. Parametric computational and design techniques (Michail Georgiou’s area of expertise) were deployed for the building’s shell and various interior details, as seen for example in the sculptural reinterpretation of the altar stone. The chapel’s most intriguing aspect however is the movement of its shape: its gentle curvature guides the eye upwards from the earth and towards the sky. Overall, what this unassuming chapel lacks in scale and grandeur, it compensates with its mindful design, modern aesthetics and creative sensibility.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Perspective Section © Michalis Georgiou.

Perspective Section © Michalis Georgiou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Isometric diagrams © Michalis Georgiou.

Isometric diagrams © Michalis Georgiou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Photo by Charis Solomou.

Byzantine Modernism: Peter the Apostle and St. Helen the Martyr Chapel in Paphos, Cyprus

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