By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Port-au-Prince Auxiliary Bishop Quesnel Alphonse and Miami Archbishop Thomas Webski point to the winning design for a rebuilt Notre Dame de L'Assomption Cathedral during the opening of the exhibit at Archbishop Curley Notre Dame's Gallery of Art.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Part of winning design for a rebuilt Notre Dame de L'Assomption is shown in the top view; at bottom a view of the new facade using part of old facade.
The designs, now on display at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame Prep�s Gallery of Art, include the first, second and third place winners, honorable mention and six others in a worldwide competition that received 134 entries.
The idea for the competition came from Archbishop Guyre Poulard of the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. Faith and Form Magazine helped to organize the contest. The top 10 designs were formerly on display at the University of Miami and will be on display at Curley Notre Dame through the end of March.
Port-au-Prince Auxiliary Bishop Quesnel Alphonse, who was on hand Feb. 26 for the exhibit�s opening at Curley Notre Dame, said that he liked the winning design and looks forward to the day the new church opens.
�Since the earthquake, we�ve celebrated Mass under a tent,� he said.
Yves Savain, a consultant to the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and the design competition coordinator, said the cathedral�s reconstruction has to lead the way in the reconstruction of Haiti�s capital city.
�The cathedral has a place in history and in Haitian culture,� he said. �Its reconstruction can be a catalyst for the rebuilding of Port-au-Prince. It�s not only a religious symbol, but a national monument.�
Segundo Cardona and a team of architects from SCF Arquitectos of Puerto Rico won the competition with their design for Place de la Cathedrale. The design includes using the cathedral�s original, rose-window fa�ade, which is still standing. After entering through the fa�ade, a covered plaza lined with colonnades and a reflecting water pool on each side leads to the church.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
The exhibit, "Winning Competition Designs for Rebuilding the Notre Dame de L�Assomption Cathedral, Port-au-Prince, Haiti," is free and open to the public. Archbishop Curley Notre Dame is located at 4949 N.E. Second Ave., Miami. For information on gallery hours, call 305-751-8367.
The exhibit, "Winning Competition Designs for Rebuilding the Notre Dame de L�Assomption Cathedral, Port-au-Prince, Haiti," is free and open to the public. Archbishop Curley Notre Dame is located at 4949 N.E. Second Ave., Miami. For information on gallery hours, call 305-751-8367.
The exterior of the church is shaped like a cross while the interior has circular seating for 1,200 people surrounding a central altar. There will be overflow seating for 600 people. A chapel surrounded with colorful glass bears the colors of the Haitian flag: red for the earth, green for life and blue for the sky. Church officials will decide later whether the winning design will be built as is or altered.
Above all, the structure will be built to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes.
�Seismic isolators built into the foundation of the building will create flexibility,� said Steven Fett of Monteleone Research and Design, third place winner of the competition who was present at the exhibit opening.
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, dean of the University of Miami�s School of Architecture, led a panel of six professionals in judging the designs.
�The winning design was liturgically well thought out,� said Plater-Zyberk. �That was one of our considerations in choosing the design. It�s also geographically-resonant. The church can function without air-conditioning and can be built in phases.�
Plater-Zyberk said the new cathedral will create a space of remembrance. �There is not a sense of dwelling on the misfortune or the tragedy as much as remembering, and that out of such tragedy something new and good arises,� she said.
A reason for the competition was to raise awareness of the need for funds, Plater-Zyberk added.
The Catholic Church in the United States raised more than $100 million after the 2010 earthquake. The money was spent on humanitarian relief and is being used to rebuild the infrastructure of Haiti�s Catholic Church, including schools and parishes, said Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
�Constructing a new cathedral could cost more than $40 million,� he said. �That money will have to be raised before construction begins.�
Other judges of the design competition included Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian-American writer; Patrick Delatour, a Haitian architect and former government official; Faith and Forum�s editor-in-chief; a liturgical consultant; and a structural engineer who specializes in disaster reconstruction.
Brother Jason Ford, Curley Notre Dame�s coordinator of Student Services, said the school�s art teacher will bring students to view the display.
�Maybe seeds will get planted in a student�s mind and they will decide to become an architect,� said Brother Ford.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Architect's drawings of a rebuilt Notre Dame de L'Assomption Cathedral in downtown Port-au-Prince.
