It is my intention to create a religious and social complex which brings together the Islamic, Christian, and Hebrew faiths, and creates an environment of dialogue and spiritual freedom. It will be a place where the community can come to pray and interact with people of theirs and different faiths, as well as participate in social projects. It will be a place where conferences can be held and scholars can learn.
With this thesis I will explore the physical, philosophical, and religious aspects of time, light, and structure.
Why Religion?
In light of what we are doing to our world’s environment and in wake of the current disillusionment with the materialism and individualism of the 1980’s and 1990’s, religion is experiencing a revival. The impending energy crisis will make large-scale mobility impossible, radically changing our current lifestyle, and increasing the need for localized communities.
Why link these three?
All three religions share a belief in one God.
All three religions are closely related, even though they have different manifestations and traditions.
In the Middle East the cause of conflict between these religious groups is more political and territorial then religious. In the Middle East, religious and political entities often overlap.
On neutral ground, in the apolitical city of Montreal, these three religions can and do co-exist.
In closely linking the three places of worship and their support structures, the possibility of mutually beneficial exchange (free from territorial and political baggage) is explored.
The Object of this Project
This project is not meant to resolve all the differences or conflicts that these religious groups have (especially in the Middle East), but to examine the possibility of a mutually beneficial coexistence in light of these differences, and to understand the commonality that these groups share.
Key features of this project will be a church, a mosque, and a synagogue, a library, rooms for scholars and monks, a community wing, gardens and a plaza.
The site is a large lot nestled between the train-tracks leading to Gare Central, Route 10, rue de la Commune, and the Lachine Canal. It is surrounded by abandoned man-made landscapes: train-tracks, warehouses, factories, and grain-silos. It is an area somehow sublime. It is an area where the industrial history of Montreal remains distinctly visible. The industrial ruins almost force a contemplation of time and structure.
Even though the access is not easy, the site does enjoy a prominent location. Visitors arriving at Gare Central pass it in the train. Those arriving on Montreal Island heading for downtown will see it driving by. It forms the tale end of the quays of the Old Port of Montreal. Finally, Peel street leads directly into the site, forming a long axis connecting the site and the Mont-Royal.
At the moment the surrounding area is quite depressed, but it is in the process of undergoing massive redevelopment. The city is hoping to renew the areas around the Lachine and to establish commercial and residential activity, and to create a strip park along the edge of the Canal.
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