2024-05-10T03:46:33-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150353202/reimagining-the-convent-typology-to-blend-spirituality-and-social-engagement Nathaniel Bahadursingh 2023-06-12T15:27:00-04:00 >2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/43/438a1462a263d04105c54b77584ec602.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Italian architecture and landscape firm Mixtura has designed a wood-structured conventual complex in Salvador de Bahia, <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/2939/brazil" target="_blank">Brazil</a>, that provides both a space for worship and philanthropic services.</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/90/90283d53ba30e5a6ede3ab5349654031.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/90/90283d53ba30e5a6ede3ab5349654031.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image: Cesare Querci</figcaption></figure><p>The approximately 57,000-square-foot building, called the convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany, was completed as part of a social project that the Bethany Foundation Onlus has been carrying out in Brazil since 2010.&nbsp;<br></p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/47/47e4ad42ece809256d0bac44b1694570.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/47/47e4ad42ece809256d0bac44b1694570.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image: Cesare Querci</figcaption></figure><p>The initiative has so far seen the construction of a kindergarten for 120 children from the neighboring favelas. It also includes the construction of a school complex for more than 500 children living in conditions of serious hardship.&nbsp;<br></p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/0b/0b10a5d85b849b015f0dad7ac2d9e465.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/0b/0b10a5d85b849b015f0dad7ac2d9e465.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image: Cesare Querci</figcaption></figure><p>The complex&rsquo;s design was formed via a participatory method that involved architects and clients with the shared goal of creating a space that would establish a positive relationship between the users, the built environment, and nature.&nbsp;<br></p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/97/979cab456c16659108fee3f52e4ebd72.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/97/979cab456c16659108fee3f52e4ebd72.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Image: Cesare Querci</figcaption></figure><p>"As architects, we s...</p>