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In the second venue of the regional exhibition, the Basilica of St. Lawrence, architecture becomes the exhibit. Extensive archaeological excavations in the basilica’s lower church had already provided exciting results in the 1960s such as the remains of a prestigious Roman city villa equipped with a high level of comfort and an early Christian church built into its ruins.
At the end of the path, 40 light stelae stand side by side on a small graveled area: a memorial to the 40 martyrs whose bones were discovered under the Basilica of St. Lawrence. They died for their faith together with the patron saint of Upper Austria, St. Florian, a few years before Christians were granted religious freedom within the Roman Empire.
Through the redesign of the Lower Church in Lorch, the architecture becomes the exhibit. Tindered dark steel plates, create a minimalist design element within the raw existing structure.
The floor that was concreted in the 1960s and the concrete ceiling that was inserted unter the floor of the basilica back then have not been altered ever since. Dark metal plates have been placed in front of it, behind whose protection continuous lines of light illuminate the path, whilst carefully placed light sources show off the masonry to its best advantage. As a result, even the mighty concrete underpinnings of the church pillars gain a monumentality that extends beyond their function.
In the alcove dedicated to St. Severin, a luminous figure of the Migration Period, this space remains intentionally empty.
Veit Aschenbrenner and Plank have lined the two paths of the lower church running parallel to the outer wall of the basilica with display cases in which precious finds are exhibited. They center a spatially somewhat widened area in which the altar donated by the governor of the province of Noricum and a stone dedication tablet have found a prominent place. Here, too, the dark metal panels serve the purpose of forming a shell that gives space to the dignity of the exhibits.
Text Romana Ring, Priority to the exhibit, Die Presse, Spectrum 18.August 2018
invited competition,
1st prize
Awarding authority:
Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government
Completion:
2018
Project-
partnership:
Arch DI Elisabeth Plank
Team:
Susanne Veit-Aschenbrenner, Elisabeth Plank, Elis Hackaj
lighting design:
ideee hintersteiner KG
Locksmith work:
Jungwirth Metallbau:
Pictures:
© Hertha Hurnaus