Arquitetura religiosa: um espaço fúnebre na paróquia da cidade da esperança, Natal/RN

Abstract

This educational product refers to the Graduation Final Project of the Architecture and Urbanism Course at UNI-RN. Therefore, it consists of studies, diagnoses, proposal evolution, and a preliminary project of a religious funeral home for the neighborhood of Cidade da Esperança in the city of Natal/RN. The space is located next to the Parish Santuary de Nossa Senhora da Esperança and Santo Inácio de Loyola, aiming to have a place for people to feel integrated and belong to the community, to have physical and spiritual support, in addition to being welcomed in the moment of loss. The studies, supported by the theoretical-methodological framework, seek to understand and analyze the practices and norms of Catholicism for funeral rites and welcoming the frail. As a result, the study of the relationship between the human senses and architectural elements was deepened, highlighting the importance of light, shadow, and nature for welcoming people who experience this moment. The diagnosis of the area involved both urban and legal dimensions, community collaboration, and their demands for a funeral home. Community collaboration involved data on the neighborhood's history and social profile. It also sought to identify and highlight the needs of the parish where the project is located. For interviews with priests and the application of questionnaires with the neighborhood's residents, surveys were carried out virtually using remote resources. The information indicated elements to be considered in an architectural project: accessibility, insertion in the community, a support area for mourning entities, and materials that are easy to maintain and clean. For the development/evolution of the draft, reference studies were identified together with theoretical-scientific and diagnostic studies. These studies guided understanding the dynamics of the space used for funerals and the construction of the concept "memory" and a program of needs for the funeral home. Thus, this work is structured in three parts: (I) theoretical basis; (II) diagnosis of the area; (III) guidelines for the preliminary design of a funeral space and the evolution of the preliminary design proposals, also following in annex the technical planks of the architectural pre-project of the funeral space.