The organic Oratory of St. Francis Xavier in Thailand raises its cross up to the skies

One of Thailand's most remote districts is Umphang, accessible only by the 'scenic but tortuous' Route 1090. The area, home to several refugee camps under the administration of the Thai military, borders the Karen Nationalist Union, a secessionist territory entangled in a long-standing conflict with Myanmar. It is of interest how Spanish architect Paco García Moro conceived and built the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier here, settled serenely, overlooking the Umphang River, amid the sheltered remnants a few kilometres away from a war zone. A clean-cut, intricate wooden lattice capes the 210 sqm chapel architecture built for the Xaverian Mission in Umphang, its silhouette organic, steady, and nurturing. Most audibly, it is its embrace of faith amid conflicts that renders the temple an organic, modest soul, apart from its noticeable pastiche of Thai vernacular architecture.

Elaborating on the inspiration behind the religious architecture’s humble, sui-generis profile, primarily rendered in Thakien wood, Moro relays, "Its shape evokes a miracle attributed to St Francis—on the verge of drowning in a shipwreck in the Moluccas, a crab approached him holding up his lost crucifix.” The layout of the oratory was inspired by “Karen traditional textile motives. The outer organic form blends with the spatial configuration born of the Catholic liturgy. A square of interwoven fibres highlights the central path to Communion along the central axis. Opposite the altar, the temple opens wide to welcome visitors, leading them through the worship area,” the architect explains. Reaching a height of 13 metres, the deferential chapel features composite, see-through pillars that grant its interior design 'lightness and grace,' while those located in its outer perimeter enhance the structure's ventilation.

Another noteworthy detail of the temple is its ubiquitous use of wood, reclaimed from demolitions of local homes, and the rest obtained from and by local communities managed by the Department of Forestry, as relayed by the Bangkok-based architect who graduated from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). The St. Xavier’s Oratory was inaugurated mid-December last year, with a mass led by the Bishop of Nakhon Sawan, moseñor Joseph Phibun, and attended by prominent members of the Catholic community in Thailand, along with ethnic Karen families based on both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border.

In a conversation with STIR, Paco García Moro expounds on the harmonious geometry of the Thai architecture, much in tune with its natural context, as well as the driving forces that led to its creation.

Jincy Iype: “The layout of St. Xavier’s Oratory was inspired by Karen traditional textile motives.”—Could you elaborate on what the Karen building tradition is, and how it was referenced in your design? How does it relate to the typical configuration of Catholic churches?

Paco García Moro: Karen people refer to themselves as prakagnon, which translates to ‘simple people,’ and they take great pride in running their own affairs in easy-going, unassuming ways. As a stateless ethnicity that has been spread across Thailand and Myanmar since colonial times, Karen culture did not have a chance to crystalise large, complex artefacts as other communities might have. However, crafts such as traditional weaving allowed them to express a rich variety of meanings and cultural practices. The floorplan of the church architecture, since its early design concept, aimed to evoke the diamond-shaped motives characteristic of Karen textiles.

Karen building tradition is reflected in their vernacular homes—simple structures standing on stilts composed of spaces for a kitchen, living area and bedrooms, plus a mid-level entry platform that usually serves as a transition between the outside and the private zones. These residences can be made of different materials, from bamboo to teakwood, fibro cement, or whatever is available to them at that moment. It is this simplicity that evinces a very versatile and adaptable layout that can be morphed, extended, and upgraded without losing its basic configuration.

However, due to the limits of the materials and the rigours of forest life, the lifespan of many of these houses is considerably low. This way, carpentry turns into a sort of ephemeral art with striking similitudes to weaving. It is a mean of transmitting cultural values that survives the artefacts it produces, making skills mastery and apprenticeship more significant than the objects themselves.

Jincy: The scenic yet torturous site in Thailand must have presented layered challenges—how did you approach the territory that is home to refugee camps and has been in a long-standing conflict with Myanmar, to build this Oratory?

Paco: A defining feature of missionaries is that they are required to stay in fringe areas, far from the comfort of known conventions and established procedures. Such notions pervaded all throughout our work since we did not have blueprints or handbooks on how to proceed at every stage of the project. This is probably one of the most exciting environments in which designers can find themselves—it requires sharp, quick, and critical thinking as well as social skills that can adapt to culturally complex environments such as this one. Issues were to be sensitively addressed, since we were in the proximity of the Myanmar conflict, the presence of refugee camps (hosting dozens of thousands of refugees under the administration of the Thai army), the cohabitation between Thai ethnic minorities and Myanmar/Karen newcomers, as well as the centralised conception of the Thai state. The understanding of the local social fabric by the Xaverian missionaries, whose low-profile but tireless social contribution was appreciated by all local stakeholders, was vital for the successful completion of the Oratory.

Jincy: Could you expound on the chapel’s design in the context of the miracle of St. Francis?

Paco: When St. Francis was on the edge of death during a shipwreck in the Moluccas, Indonesia, a crab came out from the seas holding a crucifix previously lost by the saint. Coincidentally, crabs are very common in Umphang during the rainy season and children often go to collect them in the crop fields. The design of the oratory aimed to evoke that moment—an organic form that emerges from the forest raising the cross up to the skies, while avoiding a profile that would seem too ‘crab-looking,’ from a figurative point of view. Its shape should be, at the same time, familiar to locals, relatable to the Xaverians, and aesthetically appealing on its own.

Building a giant crab without being ridiculous was challenging but we honestly believe that we have achieved it. We have kept a balance between the crab’s figurative narrative and contemporary sensibilities toward the natural landscape and vernacular materiality. That makes the purpose of the cultural architecture much easier to communicate to Thai local communities, as well as intriguing for international audiences.

Jincy: Why did you choose to articulate the chapel in Thakien wood, despite it being a material that locals avoid, as Buddhists believe it hosts spirits?

Paco: Thakien hardwood is believed by followers of Buddhism and animists to host spirits. Thais often place shrines and offerings on such trees with the aim of placating the ghosts. They are generally avoided in the prevalent architecture here since the houses could become haunted. However, as the significant Christian minority in the region would agree, a Catholic temple should not have a place for spirits, so we took the opportunity to build approximately two-thirds of the wooden architecture with plantation Thakien trees. By law, architectural timber must be sourced from managed forestry plantations and all process was supported and monitored by the local Forestry Department. The remaining third of the building was made of reclaimed teak obtained from the demolition of a nearby vernacular house.

The carpentry for the organic architecture was done by master carpenter Reen Sulee. Born in the Karen State, Mr Sulee learned geometry and traditional carpentry during his youth in prison. Today he is locally renowned for his vernacular houses, keeping the Karen building tradition alive.

Jincy: What are the composite see-through pillars made of, and could you emphasise their purpose?

Paco: The composite see-through pillars of the community architecture are intended to lift the appearance of the interior of the church by reducing the apparent thickness of the supports. Each one is composed of four timber battens that are tied together by a crossed set of steel bolts. By placing the lamps inside the pillars, the source of light remains hidden when the temple is lit at night, enhancing the weightless atmosphere of the structure; all items were bought at local hardware stores and assembled by local workers, such as electrician Preecha Laothanasan. Additionally, the composite pillars allow for natural cross-ventilation, letting the valley’s breeze flow through the building, turning into passive cooling devices.

Jincy: What was the main inspiration behind the Oratory’s distinct and intricate wooden lattice skin?

Paco: The construction of the outer lattice was based on a remarkable finding of St. Xavier’s. Modelling its geometry in CAD was an arduous and difficult task but its execution, directed by Sulee, went surprisingly smoothly. The curved façade design was solved by the additive, solve-on-the-go capabilities of manual work, proving that handcraft still offers a vast, unexplored potential for collaboration with contemporary design.

Jincy: What is your favourite part of the project?

Paco: I am particularly satisfied with the insertion of the oratory within the landscape as well as the soulful carpentry details, including the composite pillars and the skylight. However, the oratory was only possible thanks to the dedication of carpenter Sulee, who went well beyond what was reasonably expected from him, resulting in his most outstanding work to date. Not to mention, the determination of Indonesian priest Reynaldo Tardielly, in the face of the many difficulties faced during the construction process, is also commendable.

Jincy: What are your thoughts on the design of the oratory standing for unity and goodwill, sharing a message of peace and communal living amid persisting war?

Paco: By rotating the layout forty-five degrees we challenged the longitudinal arrangement typical of most Catholic temples, which derives from the Roman basilica blueprint. The diagonal arrangement of the Karen-inspired square plan served as the central axis that highlights the path to Communion. Under this organisation, locals, including the elderly and families with children, can congregate more freely in an assembly-like gathering and even lay bare feet on the floor as they usually do in local religious ceremonies. This way, the meaning of the liturgy remained clearly articulated while the architecture responded to the cultural practices of its specific audience. Working on this site itself stands as a testament to how it is possible to endure, stand for peace, and to create something useful and beloved for a community, despite challenges.

The sinuous skin and carpentry joinery of St. Xavier’s suggests new avenues for the constructive collaboration between skilled manual workers and contemporary designers, aiming for a degree of complexity, such as the human hands’ performance, at which algorithmic design will still fall dull for times to come.

Jincy: What is your creative ethos?

Paco: Rather than manufacturing merely attractive buildings, which can be created algorithmically nowadays, the actual value of design relies on the communication of certain values from one person to another. Design is, in what is worth, an act of expression and I believe that the idea that contemporary architecture can be reduced to a set of mechanical values and alleged rational operations, is a fallacy. As far as I comprehend, it concerns human beings and their ever-changing contradictions and needs, which are always layered, unexpected, and subjective. A building should not only transmit a set of functioning shapes but the artisanship and the intent through which it was raised.

Project Details

Name: Oratory of St. Francis Xavier
Location: Road 1090, Amphoe Umphang, Umphang District, Tak Province, 63170, Thailand
Area: 210 sqm
Year of completion: 2022
Client: Xaverian Mission in Umphang
Architect and designer: Paco García Moro
Construction Manager: Reynaldo Tardielly
Contractor: Wanmai Srisuk
Carpenter: Reen Sulee
Engineer: Lophadol Suwan
Electricity: Preecha Laothanasan