Cathedral of Santa Maria Auxiliadora: Redesigning the Roman Catholic Church in an Islamic City

University of Santo Tomas (UST), College of Architecture

Project idea

In 2017, Marawi City in the Philippines encountered a battle between terrorists. With this event, Marawi City suffered massive damage to its infrastructure, including Saint Mary's Cathedral. Marawi City is the largest Islamic City in the Southern Philippines, a country that Roman Catholics dominate. The proposed project aims to redesign the new Catholic Church of Marawi with respect to the Muslim-centered built environment and blast-resistant design principles. It objects to design a new and unique liturgical structure inspired by the colorful and rich culture of the Maranaos. The new St. Mary’s Church thou must show visual-cultural closeness and contiguity between Catholic and Islamic faith and respect of the Maranao culture. The Maranao is a unique indigenous group that has, despite of embracing the Islamic faith, had maintain their deep traditional beliefs and connection with the spirit world that are very evident in their way of life and colorful practices. This approach will uphold the cultural identity of the people and place, the respect for religious differences, and the peacefulness and holiness of the Roman Catholic churches.

Project description

The site of the project is the same property currently occupied by the Cathedral of Santa Maria Auxiliadora in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur and where the ruins of the Church and Bishop’s Residence is located. The design intent for the exterior of the church is inspired from the 3 common designs of Roman Catholic Architecture, Islam Architecture, and the Maranao Architecture. The Islamic inspired are the pointed arch, and geometric patterns which would help in aligning the church to the architecture language of the place. While for the Roman Catholic architecture, the I incorporated an nonvisible design such as Latin cross plan, color motif and also the decoration. While for the Maranao architecture, I incorporated the Torogan house for the form of the church and the arts of Maranao such as Panolong and its pattern. This approach would help the church to become a place of worship which promotes respect and peace for all the people in the community.

Technical information

Building Materials:
ROOFING- The structural framework of the roof uses steel while the roofing sheet is made of metal which resists fire and it is lightweight, will not corrode, and requires little maintenance.
TRUSSES- It is an additional support for the cathedral’s roof. It is made of steel which is more durable and non-fire rated than wood.
LRC WALING- The wall of the church is 600 mm thick with Laced Reinforced Concrete (LRC) construction techniques. It is widely used in blast resistant design of structures. LRC structural element consists of equal reinforcement in tension and compression faces along with lacings.
FLOORING- The flooring of the cathedral in the interior is made of 600x600 mm white marble tile while in the porch of the cathedral uses 300 x 300 mm concrete tile.
MINIMUM SPACE REQUIREMENTS:
- Main Entrance and Narthex with holy water stoup & baptismal font
- Nave with pews (minimum seating capacity, 500 pax)
- Confessionals (2.00 m²)
- Sanctuary with Altar, Lectern, Pulpit, Priest Seats and Retable (60.00 m²)
- Choir (50.00 m²)
- Side Altar/s with Tabernacle
- Priest’s Sacristy (9.00 m²)
- Server’s Vestry (9.00 m²)
- Parish Priest’s Office (9.00 m²) with Staff Area (3-staff) and Common Toilet
- Parish Office’s Lobby with Waiting Area (12.00 m²)
- Parish Office’s Social Hall (60.00 m²)
- Bishop’s Office with Toilet (12.00 m²)
- Bishop’s Bedroom with T&B (12.00 m²)
- 3-Priest Bedroom with T&B (9.00 m²)
- Dorm Type Bedroom for 6 persons with T&B (18.00 m²)
- Refectory (20.00 m²)
- Kitchen with Pantry and Storage (20.00 m²)
- Service Areas: Laundry, Clothes Drying, Genset, EE and Pump Room
- Church Patio