From the plaza, which replicates the size, and general shape of the Nave of St. The traditional sequence of liturgical spaces starts in a large open plaza west of the church and proceeds through the Porticus, Exonarthex, Narthex, and into the Nave of the church, culminating at the Iconostasis and Sanctuary. On the West façade of the church a faceted curtainwall of similar construction to the exterior dome provides illumination to the Bereavement and community spaces located on the upper levels of the church. Additional program spaces and vertical circulation are housed in an extension of the two western towers the cladding of which uses the same alternating bands of white and grey marble. The corner towers are clad in alternating large and small horizontal bands of white and grey marble reminiscent of the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, Turkey. Forty dormer windows, though clearly expressed, are seamlessly integrated into the three dimensional composition. The skin of the drum and dome, formed as a seemingly monolithic material, is divided into forty faceted panels in recognition of the 40 windows in the Hagia Sophia dome. At night the entire stone curtain-wall system glows in counter-point to the solid mass of the towers. A circle inscribed within the square consists of a drum and dome constructed at its exterior of thin stone/glass laminated panels that are illuminated from behind. The exterior of the church is comprised of four solid stone clad towers that define a square in plan. In response to this challenge, Santiago Calatrava set out to provide a building and sequence of spaces that would directly address the traditional Greek liturgy while creating a spatially varied architectural procession. ' The design for church must respect the traditions and liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church, but at the same time must reflect the fact that we are living in the 21st century.' His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios.

As such, it will be a spiritual beacon of hope and rebirth for the congregation and the city through the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will pass through the reconstructed World Trade Center site. Shroud in stone, it is entirely fitting that the church, the only non-secular building on the reconstructed site, occupy this raised position. The church is situated approximately twenty five feet above street level, which raises it slightly above the canopy of the World Trade Center Memorial oak trees. The design shall incorporate a planned vent shaft within the building footprint. Utilities will be provided to the footprint and cannot be relocated The structure must be built on a 4 foot thick concrete 'mat' that Port Authority will provide, and must conform to the loading assumptions of the 'mat' No modifications to the space below the Church's 'defined limits' are allowed The location, footprint, and volume of the Church were fixed directly above the World Trade Center Vehicle Security Center within Liberty Park.

Greek orthodox church