3 Massimiliano Fuksas’ Allegorical Abstraction As architecture evolved toward abstraction, the projective depth of the architecture was compromised, reduced to representing fewer and simpler ideas. This transformation is evident in Massimiliano Fuksas’ San Giacomo Parish Complex in Foligno, Italy (2004- 2008). The church is a monolithic exposed-concrete cube. Sus- pended within the exterior shell is a second concrete cube forming the sanctuary (3, above). This spatial arrangement performs a similar function to the allegorical space within the Dura-Europos Synagogue. The exterior concrete walls rest heavily upon the earth while the inner layer floats with the lightness of an image. The spatial divide between allegorical and material realms within Christianity is made evident in the separation of the two concrete cubes; the allegorical depth of the wall is materialised as literal depth or thickness. The abstraction of allegorical space within the church in Foligno invites broad interpretation, and relies on the imagination and knowledge of the inhabitant to complete it. Without human interpretation the church remains silent and its meaning is lost. general and universal ideas. In this move toward abstraction architects have denied space as a form of theological representation. Such Christian architecture has become a hollow container for the sole purpose of storing and preserving. As our richest and most important cultural spaces are confined to singular iconic expressions, we must ask if we can restore architecture to cultural artefact and not just its container. ~
2 Giovanni Michelucci’s Allegorical Representations Giovanni Michelucci’s drawings for the Church of the Autostrada in Florence (1960-64) suggest that allegorical imagery did not entirely disappear during the twentieth century; rather, it migrated from buildings to their representations. Michelucci’s design drawings for the church depict the ‘Tree of Knowledge’ with out- stretched branches. Hanging from the tree is drapery that encloses the sanctuary. Interpreted from these drawings are several concrete sculptures resembling leafless trees which serve as columns within the nave (2, above). The Church of the Autostrada is emblematic of allegorical space in transition wherein religious imagery is used as architectural representation to inspire a sculptural form. The architecture itself is no longer the sole repository for meaning and theology—it shares this role with the architectural drawing. The fading of allegorical depth within Christian architecture is evident in its increasing reliance upon subsidiaries such as architectural drawings for the Church of the Autostrada and the informed inhabitant in the San Giacomo Parish Complex. The absence of imagery in these churches has reduced their ability to reveal and archive their faith’s evolving theology. Without a sense of allegorical space, walls have become thin and silent; subtle and specific meaning is sacrificed for
1 White, Michael. The Social Origins of Christian Architecture. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1990. p 74 2 Kraeling, Carl H. The Synagogue. New Haven: Yale University Press , 1979 p 61; Hopkins, Clark . The Discovery of Dura-Europos . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. p 144; Perkins, Ann. The Art of Dura-Europos . London: Oxford University Press, 1973. p 56; Wischnitzer, Rachel. The Messianic Theme in the Paintings of the Dura Synagogue . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948. p 88 3 Kraeling. p 61 4 Goodenough, Erwin R. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period volume 9 . New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1964. p 69 5 Hopkins. p 95
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