Feast of Families. The Eucharistic Lighthouse, Madrid, December 2012.

LIGHTHOUSE OF COLUMBUS
An audiovisual installation for Eucharistic Adoration on the Feast of the Holy Family 2012.

In the dome, installed in the Jardines del Descubrimiento in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid.

A project by architect Eduardo Delgado and artist Javier Viver.

THE EVENT

The Feast of the Holy Family has been celebrated for several years thanks to the convocation made by the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Don Antonio Mª Rouco Varela, every December 30 in a mass that takes place in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid.

Project description

In order to emphasize support for families in the difficult situation caused by the economic crisis, the Archbishopric increased the social dimension of the celebration. Thus, the Delegation of Public Events planned a collection of food, toys and other aid during the weekend of December 30. In addition to this collection, an information point was set up to show the work of the institutions of the Church in Madrid in favor of the family and to invite people to participate.
The program of the vigil included the installation in the Plaza de Colón of a chapel for the Eucharistic exposition, with a space reserved for the sacrament of reconciliation.
The City Council arranged for the installation of a cinema in a geodesic dome or hemispherical dome with an interior audiovisual projection screen on the walls of the dome, which allowed an "immersive" experience in the film.

The project involved the transformation of a spectacular 11-meter radius film projection space into an audiovisual temple dedicated to the contemplation of the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation.
In the dome it was necessary to arrange the space around a visual center in which the Eucharistic monstrance was located, to which the eyes should be directed in a natural way. The fact of having a large dome determined the configuration of the internal architecture, the location of the monstrance and other elements. Thus, we decided to place the Eucharistic monstrance on a large lighthouse-display of approximately 3 meters in height, on the central axis of the dome.
To this end, all the faithful would surround the lighthouse in a radial fashion, raising their eyes to meet the exposed Eucharist. The Eucharistic monstrance would dominate and hierarchize the space and the prayer of the faithful would experience an ascent from ground level to heaven. This Eucharistic visual center would always be framed by the images projected on the surface of the dome, acting as an audiovisual altarpiece.

As for the layout of the space, we thought that since most of the users of the chapel would be families with young children, we treated the floor accordingly. This way one could stand, sit, kneel or prostrate. And the children could also find their posture for resting, playing or praying.
Therefore we used white mats of rigid foam with circular geometry and different diameters, the larger ones to accommodate large families, others with several children and a final size for personal prayer.

Finally, the focus of attention was placed on the Eucharistic lighthouse. There was a clear need to achieve a certain height that would make the monstrance visible from any point in the chapel. However, we were also concerned about the possible interference between the monstrance and the beams of light from the projectors.
The Eucharistic Lighthouse was inspired by other columns such as Constantin Brancusi's Endless Column or Francisco Alonso's San Isidro Tower-Museum project for Madrid. We thought of a certain geometrization of the lighthouse with the intention of giving it a law of growth and a certain plastic vibration.
Some candles were placed at the foot of it, with the purpose of evoking the fire of the pillar described in Exodus (13:21-22). In fact, the column itself, in its upper part, dematerialized, transforming itself into a golden wreath that guarded the presence of the Eucharist. However, this crown was built with the same geometry as the rest of the piece, transforming the edges of those triangles into brass plates gilded with gold leaf, which allowed the monstrance to be seen inside.
The monstrance finally used deserves a separate mention: it is a true jewel of Spanish imagery. Loaned by the Félix Granda Foundation ........