Cathedral Of Créteil Extension
In 2009, on the initiative of Bishop
Santier, the diocesan association of
Créteil, supported by the Chantiers du
Cardinal, opted for an ambitious project
to expand the cathedral of Notre-Dame
de Créteil. Conceived by Charles-Gustave
Stoskopf, holder of the Prix de Rome, this
architecture is typical of the 1970s when
“the theology of blending-in” prevailed
at the time. It is part of the contemporary
heritage of the City of Créteil.
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The commission was to double the
capacity of the cathedral and to enhance
its visibility towards the city. More than
a renovation, this project involved a
major redevelopment of the cathedral,
giving it a new architectural lease on
life from a symbolic and pastoral point
of view. The new cathedral is anchored
in a multicultural city, which includes
five Catholic churches, ten synagogues,
a mosque, a Protestant church, four
Evangelical churches, a Buddhist temple
and a Bahai assembly.
A dialogue between two different
architectural styles, yet consistent, is
established. The dome pointing skywards
is based on the footprint of the original
cathedral. The silhouette of the entrance,
on a human scale, is now joined with
the monumental proportions of the
new project, focusing on the nave of the
cathedral that extends from two spherical
wood-clad hulls, like two hands joined in
prayer that meet above the altar.
Large gatherings can be held in this
new space. The existing sanctuary has
been remodeled and the benches are
placed in a broad semicircle. In daylight,
the stained-glass window located at the
junction of the two hulls shed a colored
light onto the sanctuary, while at night,
illuminated from inside, they become the
symbol of a living Christian community.
The steeple, detached from the building
on the corner of the forecourt, marks
the cathedral entrance with its slender
silhouette, punctuated by three bells
from the old campanile. It restores the
building urban scale and become a sign
in the city beside the large residential
buildings of the neighborhood. The view
onto the cathedral forecourt is freed by
opening the curtain of trees. The new
square, built by the city on the opposite
side, is an amenity for local residents, and
an extension of parish life.
in place of the former garden. It is marked
by the presence of the baptistry. We
decided that this axis, which would be
the route of solemn processions in the
cathedral, would become the standard
for arranging all the structures: thus the
supporting arches of the shells are all
drawn in parallel to this liturgical axis.
This unique and particular architectural
expansion is defined by the liturgical
axis. The geometric complexity of the
design – each arch is unique, mirrored
on either side of the axis – creates a
space under tension, at once static and
dynamic. Each mouvement becomes a
particular experience, especially through
the “accelerations” of transparencies and
opacities created by the progress of the
arches on the spherical curve of the hulls.
This architecture in motion is illustrated
by the steady arch of the hanged
platform at the centre of the cathedral,
thus creating a long travelling.
A Space Structured By The Liturgy
Having thus determined the architectural
element of the project, we still had to
determine the specifics. The new spatial
organisation of the cathedral provided us
with the framework we needed. The two
cylindrical concrete walls that support
a horizontal terrace situated about 5
metres high from the ground, become
two tridimensional wooden hulls that
converge at 20 metres above the altar.
The liturgical axis was born from the
creation of a chapel facing the sanctuary,
The Warmth Of Wood
The white architecture of Stoskopf serves
as the setting for the new cathedral, clad
all in wood, inside and out. This unity
of material refers back to the ancient
cathedrals, where the mass of these stone
vessels was cut and chiseled by the light.
This allows a straightforward reading
of the two layers of the building, but
most importantly, stands for unity and
simplicity.