CHURCH OF GUADALUPE, Milford, Indiana

The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe is designed for the Hispanic catholic community of Milford, Indiana. The idea of the project is to organize the church around a square, the foundational urban element of cities and communities across the Americas. The plaza is the place of encounters, the site for larger celebrations and the memory of home on Sundays after mass.

The Church stands as a symbol of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Generating memories without precedents, the Church assembles and transforms essential elements of diverse periods of Mexican church building. The altar faces East and the flowers and blue of Our Lady of Guadalupe receive and embrace the worshipers while warm light from above highlights the golden altar with candles.

The position of the Church defines the three areas of the Plaza. An open air Chapel opens the Church towards the South and the star shaped fountain recalls the mantel of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Along the northern façade of the church a small plaza faces the dining hall and invites meditation. Two galleries run parallel to the Plaza in the northern and western edges and hold classrooms, restrooms and other elements of the program. Stations of the Cross define the other two sides of the event and provide further individuality to the Plaza as a processional path. Trees beyond a low wall hide the parking and frame the Plaza.

Building materials include: concrete block, stucco, Indiana limestone and wooden floors and windows. Traditional building techniques promote community involvement and participation. The plan provides for construction in phases and expansion over time around the plaza.

The Church stands as memory of home, and heart and hope of the Hispanic catholic community of Milford, Indiana.