The newest Catholic temple, Narac Church

The river brings the stones, the air brings the ideas, and the light realizes them. This is how the imagination for creating the new modern Catholic temple begins, the first of its kind in the Republic of Albania, designed and entirely built in Albania by an Albanian architect from local workers and materials. The village where this temple is being constructed is located near a river, and concrete is the most rational and suitable material in this landscape. Everywhere along the roads, you can see river pebbles because in the past, before the communist era, the river used to flow through this village. During the communist period, the village was relocated from above the river, to below the river, after a dam was built to divert the river for the purpose of drying out the agricultural lands that were flooded in the Zadrima plain. The architect is from this village and has a Christian background. He received his architectural education at the “Mendrisio Academy of Architecture in Switzerland.” He graduated under the mentorship of a world-renowned architect, Mario Botta, and spent over a year as a student of the 2009 ‘Pritzker Prize’ laureate, Peter Zumthor. Subsequently, he worked and collaborated with several different architecture studios in Switzerland, where he also emerged as a winner in several international competitions held within these studios. The concept for the realization of this project emerged as a result of this young boy’s education and his strong desire to create something unique and beautiful, to bring hope to this village. The realization of this oeuvre demonstrates that throughout this period of transition, no church or religious temple was ever constructed in this village, unlike many other nearby villages. It is incomprehensible and unexplained how this was the case, perhaps because there is a beautiful church from 1880s in the neighboring village, built entirely from stone. The architect could have chosen more classical forms for this project or straight lines, but he didn’t. He opted for a curved form that is always inclusive. The form of the object shouldn’t have sharp corners or angles, so it doesn’t oppose anyone. It is a self-contained structure, and when you enter, ARKPRO you experience an extraordinary atmosphere.