CHURCH OF THE HOLY MARTYRS

at the base of a small mountain in the cantabrian region of northern spain, the ‘church of the holy martyrs’ by fernandez-abascal+muruzabal and alonso+barrientos stretches a horizontal concrete expression elevated off the ground on a series of parallel beams to avoid damage from the deva river floods. the sacred structure contains three primary parts. an entrance foyer characterized by transparent boundaries allowing views to penetrate
from the street to the mountain as an extension of the exterior that contains materials present in the other two sections. a small section defined by natural exposed concrete contains offices, services and two classrooms. the roof and floor planes stretch across to the other extent of the structure framing a red-tinged volume containing the primary nave. the elongated space features a clean concrete interior with a set back canopy along the northern axis and a deep longitudinal beam anchoring a series of transverse joists under an open skylight. the entire wall under the opening is flooded with natural light and emphasizes asymmetry in an otherwise regular rectangular space.