The Cathedral of Santo Eccehomo
Heritage & Culture
Valledupar | Colombia
2019
Architectural Design
Gustavo Vasquez
Photo
Sebastian Franco
The new Cathedral of Santo Eccehomo, the largest church in Colombia, was built to give the constantly expanding archdiocese of Valledupar a structure that could house the thousands of worshipers that gather here to take part in important services.
The architect Gustavo Vasquez, commissioned in 2013 to design the new Cathedral, has created a space that can seat around 4000 people with modern architecture that maintains a strong religious identity. Vasquez’s project symbolically expresses the ascension of all believers from the underworld towards God in Heaven. On the façade the architect has placed large vertical buttress walls that represent the 7 sacraments of the catholic faith. Moving from the outside towards the centre the walls get higher and higher to culminate in a bell tower where the imposing crucifix is located. The church, which has a central-plan design is composed of a large space of around 60 metres wide where worshipers can gather around the Diocesan Bishop and the altar where Mass is celebrated. As in most modern churches even in the Cathedral in Valledupar the space is filled with light. The relationship between architecture and natural light is extremely important and is a fundamental part of the project. Eleven stained glass windows that represent Christian faith and Vallenato culture allow light to flood in. There are also large windows on the external walls which guide the light to the central body of the church thus minimising the need for artificial light.
The lighting concept was developed taking into account the important role the Cathedral plays as host to the most important religious services in the country. It focuses on integrating natural and artificial light, enhancing the architecture and the possibility of creating different lighting scenes based on different liturgical functions. This last requirement was answered by using a DALI control system that can create and recall different scenes depending on the event in question. This also allowed for substantial energy savings and makes it easier to manage for users.
