In the field next to the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Kambelovac, work has begun on the construction of the Pastoral Center, which was announced by numerous parish priests. However, after a series of failed attempts, the current parish priest, Don Ivan Čotić, succeeded. The construction of the center will be financed by the Archdiocese of Split and Makarska, according to the Studio Sorelle project, which was prepared with detailed instructions from the conservator, given that the facility will be built in a protected zone, as we have announced.
Excavators have arrived at the site and in recent days intensive work has been carried out on excavating the surface layer of the soil. The contractor is Dom Commerce, which was commissioned at the end of April. It is expected that the rough work will be completed by the end of the year, and the entire project could be completed over a two-year period.
According to the project, the center will be open-plan with a ground floor and a first floor under a single-pitched roof with spaces intended for the needs of the parish of St. Michael the Archangel. It will have an outdoor altar, a large and small hall with auxiliary spaces and toilets, and on the first floor there will be classrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a social area and two guest apartments.
The building is a combination of modern and classical construction methods, the finish will be in rough plaster in a color as similar to stone as possible, with larger openings (wooden joinery) facing south. The surroundings of the building, such as the central square, will be arranged according to a horticultural project, and the square is planned to be paved with stone slabs sunk into the sand, with green islands in which precisely designed indigenous trees and greenery will be planted.
Stone benches will be placed in the central square for seating. The rest of the area around the building will be grassed, all in accordance with the instructions we received from the conservation department – the designers state.
The total floor area of the building is 342 m2, and the total gross construction area of the building is 555 m2 (net usable area 505 m2). Parking for the building will also be relocated, according to special conditions issued by the competent Conservation Department, away from the relevant protected zone, to a public parking lot under a special contract with the City of Kaštela, we were told back in November last year.
Photo: Ivana Topić/ Studio Sorelle
