S. Maria delle Grazie Church and Community Centre

Santa Maria delle Grazie Parish Church and community Center Rome, via della Bufalotta Design: 2002-2006 Construction 2007-2010 Architect: Francesco Garofalo, Sharon Yoshie Miura Collaborators: Floriana Taddei, Paul Blackmore, Roberta Scocco Structural Engineer: Antonio Michetti Mechanical Engineer: Santino Tosini The Church is part of a program undertaken in the mid-nineties by the Church of Rome to build to build about 50 new churches in the periphery of the Italian Capital. Francesco Garofalo has designed another Church, prior to S. Maria delle Grazie – S. Maria Josepha on via Prenestina that has been widely published and recognised. The Church itself is composed by a nave for about 250 people and a weekday chapel for about 25. The secular building is C-shaped, forming a court partially cloed by the back of the Church. It houses the sacristy and offices, priest residence and teaching spaces with 10 classrooms and a 200 seat auditorium. The Church is locate in the north-east periphery of the city and serves a community formed of two separate settlements: a formerly illegal neighbourhood of houses and small apartment buildings, and a series of large linear blocks built by a private developer for less than a 1,000 dwellings. Francesco Garofalo designed the outside spaces as well as the building and the liturgical furniture. The project was first exhibited in the Venice Biennale 9th International Architecture Exhibition entitled “Next”, directed by Deyan Sudjic in 2002. S. Maria delle Grazie has been published before being built by “Area”, and “Progetti”; since its completion in 2010, it has been published by “Chiesa Oggi” (attached), and the Hungarian architectural magazine “Metszet”.