Lihula is a small town where every new business can potentially shift the focal point. The competition ‘Great Public Spaces’ dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia focused on the historical axis and main street of the town–Tallinn Road. Our competition entry ‘Hõbelauk’ aimed at diversifying the street space and highlighting the mysterious local spatial potentials. We wished to allow every new potential to rise and shine thus enhancing the appearance and also natural disappearance of various places.
The Church of St Alexander of Neva in Lihula is a peculiar building as its location along the main street is based on the urban layout thus extending from the northwest to the southeast. Consecrated in 1889, the church was eventually closed down in 1962 and left abandoned.
On site, we were inspired by the self-evolving secret garden inside the roofless church. The trees growing from the hall seemed to form a rooftop or a solar shading gently swaying in the wind. We wished to retain the ambience created by the interaction between man and nature: the impermanence of human creation, the power of nature, the dynamics between the flora and the rock.
We add little to the current situation and with subtlety: the pews reclining on the wooden floor beams mark the former floor surface of the building. The location of the icon stand will be accentuated by a glass partition separating the chancel from the rest of the space. The roof currently covering the chancel will be restored and the weather-beaten walls preserved.
AET ADER, ARVI ANDERSON, MARI HUNT, NELE ŠVERNS, KRISTIAN TAAKSALU, KARIN TÕUGU (B210 ARHITEKTID)
HEADER: A view from the nave.
PUBLISHED: Maja 109-110 (summer-autumn 2022) with main topic Built Heritage and Modern Times
