#HTE
Growing up during the times of Communism in former Yugoslavia was an interesting experience – not that I have a benchmark for growing up any other way. One thing I do remember from my ‘Communist childhood’ was that that visiting churches and religion in general were taboo, and any expression of one’s own beliefs were discouraged. Although I was too young to recall all the little details from this time, I vividly remember my late grandmother speaking to me about angels, and the smell of the incense and the candles she used to burn at home before I’d fall asleep. She used to ‘bless me’, kiss my forehead, and she even ‘secretly’ took me to church a couple of times while I was still a pup. Although none of this meant much to me at the time, it has indeed turned out to have a profound effect on my curiosity and the way I feel about churches and places of worship. Thanks to my grandmother, I have grown up with an innate sense of curiosity and wonder about religious architecture. Although I am not myself particularly religious, I adore and seek out churches when visiting new cities, no matter what denomination they belong to.
Just like my grandmother did, churches make me feel safe, protected and nurtured. For me, these visits can have an almost meditative experience, and a sense of ceremonial celebration. There have been plenty of times when entering a church while feeling somber, a sense of mystery would overcome my being and pull me out of my bubble in a snap.
Regardless of whether or not you feel the same way about churches as I do, it is difficult to deny the extraordinary power of these sacred elemental spaces. In today’s world full of noise, the church represents a little break, and a sweet moment of peace. To further reinforce these qualities, our story focuses on buildings with minimal use of ornamentation. These calm and serene spaces were designed for contemplative meditation and collective spirituality – no matter what our personal beliefs may be. Through careful selection of materials, monumental (or micro) proportions, manipulation of natural and artificial light, and the absence of religious iconography, these sacred spaces achieve supreme visual harmony, and assure silence.
So… Shall we visit some of my favourites today? Be warned – this post is a religious experience in it’s own right and just may break the internet with it’s gigantic epicness. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
See More ‘Stories on Design’ Curated by Yellowtrace.
Photography © Nacasa and Partners.
Ribbon Chapel by NAP Architects // Two curving staircases encircle the exterior of this wedding chapel by Tokyo-based architect Hiroshi Nakamura, meeting at a rooftop platform that overlooks the Hiroshima coastline. “By entwining two spiral stairways, we realised a free-standing building of unprecedented composition and architecturally embodied the act of marriage in a pure form,” explains Nakamura.
Photography © Dennis Gilbert.
Bishop Edward King Chapel by Niall McLaughlin Architects // And so to Britain, where Niall McLaughlin Architects has added the Bishop Edward King Chapel to the cluster of buildings at Ripon Theological College nestled in the countryside north of Oxford. The chapel provides space within space – a ring of columns bend inwards and enmesh, referencing an existing forest glade, within the masonry and glass superstructure. To my eyes the architecture also references the expressed tracery and ribs of gothic vaulting, readily connecting this clean modern room with a far more ancient and mysterious kind of architecture.
Read the full article about this project & see more images here.
Photography © Iwan Baan.
Gratitude Open Chapel in Lagunillas, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao & Dellekamp Arquitectos // Located within a few kilometers near the beginning of the journey, four clean white forms emerge from the landscape. Offering a moment for pause and silent reflection to visitors, the ritual space allows the individual to embrace their upcoming quest. A boundary made from stacked stone, the ‘wall of promises’ invites individuals to leave behind a symbolic object, image or piece of writing expressing gratitude or compliments. The tall monoliths cast long shadows, which shift during the day, obstructing the once sun bathed terrain.
Photography by Felipe Ribon.
St Hilaire Church by Mathieu Lehanneur Melle France // Paris based Mathieu Lehanneur has created a space which sits comfortably somewhere between the past, the present and the future, where tradition and technology interact, and the original and the new exist in perfect harmony – alabaster amber and original sandstone look like a match made in heaven. The result is unexpected, almost bizarre, yet it feels really comfortable, natural, ceremonial and – above all – very beautiful.
Read the full article about this project & see more images here.
Church of San Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland by Mario Botta // Seen from outside, the building is elliptical in shape, with a slanting roof and black and white stripes. The interior has a dizzying checkerboard design in the same colours. This is the church that was designed by the well-known architect, Mario Botta – the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista at Fusio. The innovative building made from alternating layers of native Peccia marble and Vallemaggia granite was extremely controversial, but eventually became a landmark that is known far beyond the borders of Switzerland. The church has no windows, and the interior – which seats about 15 people – is only illuminated by natural light streaming in through the glass roof.
Photography © Iwan Baan.
Church of Seed by O Studio Architects // Hong Kong-based O Studio Architects have completed a stark concrete church on the side of a sacred mountain in China. Named the Church of Seed, the building on Mount Luofu is formed of three curved walls that curl around the interior like the casing around the seed of a plant. Vertical ridges in the surface of these inclined walls reveal the bamboo formwork that the concrete was cast into, while handmade bamboo furniture provides seating for 60 inside the central hall. A large cross-shaped opening on the southeast elevation draws in soft sunlight in the mornings, while a solid west wall blocks out glare in the afternoons. A staircase on the side of the church leads up to a rooftop observation deck.
Photography © Fernando Guerra.
Santa Ana Chapel in Portugal by e|348 Arquitectura // Portuguese firm e|348 arquitectura has completed the ‘Santa Ana Chapel’ on a wedge site surrounded by a very traditional vernacular and an almost untouched natural beauty. Simplicity and originality are key components to match the history and aesthetic of the landscape. An L-shape typography was chosen to leave designed space on the exterior in the form of contemporary stone steps and courtyard. The traditional masonry construction is covered in chapisco, a traditional portuguese finish whereby a special concrete mix is skillfully applied to a wall or roof sealing any cracks in the brickwork but also giving the rounded structure a strong texture, painted white to contrast the environment.
Photography © Henri Gueydan.
Harajuku Church in Tokyo, Japan by Ciel Rouge // The architecture for this Protestant Church is centred by a wide nave arranged with six arches and a bell tower that symbolically lay importance on the seven elements, the seven days of creation, the seven churches of the Orient. “We create the impression of a biblical open sky image from which the light amid the Holy Spirit descends upon the followers and worshippers,” says the architect. The softly curved arches specifically designed for fine acoustics also remind of a hand overwhelming the crowd. For the use as an authentic concert hall facility, the temple displays the comfort of lodges discreetly positioned right from within the arches.
Photography by Pedro Pegenaute & José Manuel Cutillas.
Iglesia San Jorge by Tabuenca & Leache // For this project, a church-building had to be designed to accomodate 400 people, including a chapel which would cater for about 100 people to use on a daily basis. A parish centre also includs offices, multipurpose rooms, classrooms for catechesis, two houses for priests and a guest room.
Photography © FG+SG – Fernando Guerra.
Nossa Senhora das Necessidades Church in Portugal by Célia Faria + Inês Cortesão // The church is located in the centre of a crowded village. The intervention is based on a building previously constructed, where the interior was unfinished. The architects started with the idea of “building the silence” – in a world full of noise, the church represents a break, a moment of rest, peace and meditation. The strong spiritual character is present but doesn’t intimidate, it gives a sense of protection. The selection of materials, the way of moulding both natural and artificial light and the absence of images had the purpose of achieving harmony, a primarily condition in order to assure silence.
Photography by Koji Fujii / Nacasa & Partners.
Shonan Christ Church in Kanagawa, Japan by Takeshi Hosaka // Gaps in the upside-down barrel-vaulted ceiling of this Japanese church by Takeshi Hosaka funnel slices of light into the concrete-lined hall. The “restrained” single-storey height of the church, with a sculptural reinforced concrete roof, is intended to harmonise with the low-rise buildings of the residential area. This curving cast-concrete roof features six separate concave slabs, intended to symbolise the first to sixth day in the Bible’s story of creation.
Images © Gianluca Gelmini.
Sistemazione Cripta by Gianluca Gelmini // This project is executed around the theme of ‘space without the edges’, where the curved line extends outside the crypt to create a sinuosity internal space. The new lighting system consists of two large rings measuring six meters in diameter that cross above the altar. Two new entries clad in brass mark the passage into the crypt.
Photography by Gilbert McCarragher.
St Moritz Church by John Pawson // British architect John Pawson’s minimalist remodelling of a church in Augsburg, Germany, includes slices of onyx over the windows to diffuse light more softly through the space. Slices of finely veined translucent white stone were laminated to glass and installed in the choir windows. “The effect of this is to generate the optimum light conditions, screening out direct sunlight and bathing the space in a haze of diffused luminescence”, explain the architects.
Photography © Nacasa & Partners.
St. Voile Chapel by Kasahara Design Work // Sited on the banks of Niigata’s Shinano river, this wedding chapel completed by Japanese Architects Kasahara design work is topped with an intricate white veil. Serving as a visual metaphor for marriage, a series of pipes organically climb the chapel’s interior before interweaving and uniting at their eventual summit. Ensuring a bright and almost ethereal atmosphere, the scheme’s brilliant white surfaces reflect the pure daylight entering from above, while an arched aperture behind the church’s altar frames a view of the building’s natural surroundings. Externally, the narrow building is clad with a natural slate that allows the chapel to sit comfortably within its landscape.
Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki by Tuomo Suomalainen // Temppeliaukio Church (also known as the Church of the Rock) is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighbourhood of Helsinki. The project was generated from an architectural competition won by two architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961. Their design for project was recognised by the awards jury as “completely original” and respectful of the competition goal to “include the organisation plan for the whole Temppeliaukio Square with its park area and parking spaces, taking into attention that as great part as possible of the rock area of the square could be saved.”
As a result, the interior of the church was excavated and built into the rock. The sanctuary floor was located at the level of the highest street that ended at the square, so that the entrance leads the visitors directly inside the church without the need of stairs. The 24m diameter roof is made up of a copper-clad dome, connected to the natural rock wall by 180 window panes that let the natural light in. Due to the varying height of the rock wall, each glass section of the roof is different in size. According to the studied disposition of the dome, this causes stronger illumination of the altar area.
Photography © Randall Connaughton.
Thorncrown Chapel by E. Fay Jones // Hidden in the middle of the forests surrounding Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains, Thorncrown Chapel rests amongst the oaks, pines and maples. The humble chapel, designed by Euine Fay Jones, is less than 35 years old – yet it’s already on the U.S. Historic register, having been named one of the AIA’s top ten buildings of the 20th century.
With over 425 glass windows and a repeated column and truss structure, the vertical chapel is like a “forest within a forest,” reaching 15m high, 18m long and a mere 7m wide. A central skylight allows generous portions of light to spill through onto those below. Custom lanterns adorn each column and at night reflect off the glass – as if they were lit somewhere off in the forest.
Images courtesy of Barry Cox.
Tree Church & Labyrinth Walk in New Zealand by Barry Cox // Barry Cox, New Zealand resident, nature lover and founder of tree locations, has built a living chapel on the grounds of a 3-acre garden in the region of Ohaupo. Cox constructed the ‘Tree Church‘ over the last four years, landscaping a 350m lush labyrinth walk based on the walls of the ancient city of Jericho. The agricultural architectural project comprises a variety of plant species and life — cut leaf alder for the roof canopy, copper sheen for the walls, and camellia black tie, acer globosum and thuja pyramidalis for the external façades.
Inside the green dwelling, rows of wooden benches accommodate up to 100 guests, forming a pathway to the altar, which is made of italian marble. Outside the gardens include a shaded area under a large canopy constructed from a military cargo parachute for after-event gatherings.
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