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architect
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Družstevná 70, Stará Turá
Márius Žitňanský
Cultural Design Institute in Bratislava
Church of the Brethren in Slovakia
1978 – 1982
1982 – 1983

Assigned a highly unattractive site at the town’s northern edge below a railway embankment, the architect nonetheless managed to overcome the disadvantages of the location through his intriguing and innovative design, which later became a model for the other buildings for this Protestant denomination. The position at the end of the street was used to create the archetypal illusion of a path rising to the ‘temple on the hill’ foregrounded by the small circular square. At the street’s very end is the massive solid gate of the entrance corner. The entire building is based on simple geometric forms, with a principle of flexibility and openness. The glass partition walls and windows allow for natural contact with the exterior. At the centre of the hall of worship is a suspended circular presbytery, lighted by a massive cylindrical skylight. On the sides are galleries with a series of attached secondary spaces (flats, guest rooms, schoolrooms, library).

Literature:
MONCOĽ, Milan: Zborový dom Cirkvi bratskej v Starej Turej. Projekt 32, 1990, 9 – 10, p. 10 – 13.
LUKÁČOVÁ, Elena a kol.: Sakrálna architektúra na Slovensku. Komárno, KT 1996, p. 180.  
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 p., p. 448. 

Photo:
Rajmund Müller