Thursday, April 27, 2017

Are Moveable Walls Good Church Architecture?


I don't think so. Not generally speaking. While an iconostasis is technically movable, it is usually not moved, as long as the Church remains in function.

I was however not always Catholic with some penchant for Eastern Rite, I was at one time learning to pray and read the Bible in Churches - if one may call them so - which have moveable walls.

It didn't hurt, because these walls, when there did not carry any icons, and when moved, did not remove icons with them. These Churches are my own most vivid experience of what usually is conference centres.

Someone who presumably agrees with me on Church Architecture, is producing these assets for conference buildings, and if you live in or near Athens, I suppose he may be the closest by to be doing so.

Here is a blog post which would indicate to professionals (I presume, not being one myself) that he knows what he is talking about:

Κινητοί Τοίχοι - Movable Walls : Η Ηχομόνωση των Κινητών Τοίχων και σχετικές έννοιες*
Friday, September 23, 2016
http://movablewalls.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-post.html


I do him this little favour because, perhaps, some people may expect me to do some favour to some business man, but also, more, this thing about movable walls brought back good memories. It was not under torture or threats of beatings I became a Christian, but playing and reading along in well aired buildings with movable walls, some of which also served to provide ma and me with a separate sleeping room./HGL

PS, higher up on the blog, you will see some decorative examples of this concept. Restaurants can use it for advantage when accomodating companies of guests of diverse sizes, one evening a smaller one, with other guests on other side of a wall, one evening a bigger one, with walls removed./HGL

* All the text except the title is also available in English on the post.

3 comments:

Hans Georg Lundahl said...

I just found his name and adress, if you want to get in touch:

P. Zafiropoulos S.A.
Tel. 210-6646052,
21st Km. Lavriou Ave. 19400 Koropi,
Tel 210-6646051/2

Κινητοί Τοίχοι - Movable Walls said...

Thank you for visiting and referring to our blog in your post. Regarding the movable wall concept and the church architecture, it would be also for me difficult to imagine e.g. a byzantine church with movable walls, for a host of reasons. However, modern church architecture, in many cases, involves auxiliary spaces that can make use of movable walls. We have installed movable walls in several church facilities, mainly in congress halls, Sunday school areas, etc. that are part of church conglomerates. In certain western European churches, however, I have seen movable walls installed withing the worship space, to accommodate varying sizes of congregation, or to save heating/cooling costs.

Hans Georg Lundahl said...

What you say of Church conglomerates, that is precisely what I was referring to above, as to the buildings in US.

Except, that there the space of worship was involved in the "congress hall."