Church of St Mary of the Angels

Like water into wine, the miracle of urban development has performed an almost biblical feat of transformation on Singapore’s Church of St Mary of the Angels: without one inch of movement, the once-hilltop Friary now nestles on the floor of an urban valley, surrounded by the vertiginous peaks of Singapore’s high rise residential sprawl. Time had also worked its mysterious ways: the congregation has grown from thirty in the 1950s to 5000 parishioners today. The piecemeal addition of buildings helped to accommodate this growth, but gradually transformed the selfcontained Friary into a rambling agglomeration, devoid of direction or distinct form.

And so WOHA Architects undertook their own feat of transformation, flipping the focus from outward-looking to inward-looking, mirroring the shift from hilltop outlook to valley enclosure. The renovated portion of the Franciscan Friary now sits alongside a new structure, a sheltered pathway linking the two, and there is a new Monastery for the Poor Clares nuns. A new columbarium, wake rooms are connected to the existing Parish Centre by in-between spaces for communal gathering or private prayer. The property is now properly described as a “building as a community”, with sub-communities radiating out from the semi-outdoor communal space at its heart.

And yet, the existing site hinted at an inherent openness, a theme that was retained in the eventual masterplan. To this end, inspiration was drawn from the Franciscan Friar’s head church, St Francis of Assisi in Italy, where a large lawn, colonnades and ramped entrances flow out from the main cathedral. Here in Singapore, the hilly site created various levels, which are likewise linked by covered walkways and ramped outdoor spaces, creating endless opportunities for processions and celebrations. This newly enhanced connection to nature was of course a response to the tropical climate, but at a deeper level was inspired by St Francis of Assisi himself, whose life was devoted to spreading the message of faith throughout the community, rather than within the confines of the church.

In traditional colder climates, the functional spaces of a church are usually ensconced in the deep interior of the building, providing parishioners with a protective sanctum. Here among the humid hills of Singapore, openness is a respite in itself. The traditional entrance hall or narthex instead becomes the semi-covered central space, sheltered by a 10-metre cantilevered roof, from which covered walkways run to separate function-oriented ancillary buildings: the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the work sacristy, vesting sacristy and restrooms.

Sloping down to the central area is the Garden of World Peace, its columnesque tree trunks and fine canopy leading to the Easter Flame reflection pool. The water feature hints at the potential for the space to be used as an outside Church during the Easter Vigil period, when a bonfire is lit at the centre of the pool, and the entire community of 5000 comes together in united worship.

The Garden of World Peace also serves as the roof of the underground columbarium. Designed as a light, airy crypt, ample daylight beams in – at ceiling-level inside, from ground-level outside – and reflection pools connect earth to sky, serving as meditative devotional aids.

The new design is expressed in three harmonious architectural languages, a chorus that spans the gap between old and new, form and function, climate and budget. The first gains voice in the link way, as a rhythmic, open-sided colonnade. The second was translated from the original cellular Friary building, now pronounced through a series of regular white cubic forms with perforated aluminium sun screening and overhangs, and applied to all elements with regular, cellular spaces. The third architectural language is phrased in looser, linking forms; a folding and intersecting planar of rough-textured brown walls, inspired by the rough brown fabric of the Franciscan robes.

This third language, the folding planar was further deconstructed into three interior dialects: blackened steel, solid oak and plywood, each connoting a different level of symbolism. Plywood and steel were used in the more economical areas, with solid oak highlighting areas of importance. The Friary and Monastery are furnished set of loose and built-in fitting which elevate the simple, poor plywood and steel plate materials through complex design, just as the friars and nuns elevate their lives of poverty and chastity through the richness of their actions.

In setting out the main congregation space, the architects were under higher orders: a Catholic Church reform document entitled ‘Vatican II’ directed new worship spaces to recapture the qualities of early Christian churches, where the entire community participated in the liturgy. This steered WOHA away from the nowadays familiar layout of later churches, where rituals are performed as if on a stage, and parishioners suffer a physical and spiritual separation from the ceremony. In the Church of St Mary of the Angels, seating on three sides of the ceremonial space ensures that no seat is too far from the sanctuary, and the priests were consulted on the location of the baptism font, altar and lectern, to guarantee their correct symbolic and functional positioning.

Tradition and contemporary aesthetics constantly accommodate each other throughout the church. The custom-made pews and sculptural light poles were chosen to give even lighting and an amenity-free ceiling, yet anyone can see their ultra-modern appeal. The stained-glass bell tower is a classical church component, yet in translucent glass and Chinese onyx, this one is a thoroughly modern variation on a theme. Lights and skylights intersect ceilings throughout the complex, each time casting a radiant cruciform onto the altar or congregation below. The entire design is indeed a case of form following faith, an exercise in meticulous attention to detail and diligent application of design principles, where every element is guided by and conducive to devotion. The Church of St Mary of the Angels is an impressive exercise in devotional architecture: Every feature is intensely intentional, no element is without its symbolic undertone, nothing is accidental. It is the sort of diligence that one associates with true devotion. +

1 & 2 The skylight above the altar in the Poor Clare Monastery (Nunnery) projects a cross onto the altar at midday. 3 Axial view along sacred axis, with the baptism front, altar and Corpus. 4 The friars have their own private chapel within the Friary. it looks out into the water and lawn opening off the living areas. 5 The church in use on the opening night. The church sits 1200 people. 6 The Friary is parly renovated, partly new structure. The building on the left dates from the 1950s, while the building on the right is new, and the space between them forms a sheltered courtyard.

IMAGES courtesy of Tim Griffith