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UNESCO survey verifies 341 damaged cultural sites across Ukraine

2024-02-15T17:35:00-05:00

UNESCO has verified nearly 30 dozen damaged cultural sites across Ukraine in a new survey meant to shed light on the extent to which the cost of war has left an impact on the nation’s spiritual landscape and intellectual heritage over the past two full years.

Kharkiv and Donetsk led the list of regions with the most damaged sites, totaling 56 and 87, respectively. The list counts a total of 341 sites, another 39 of which are in the Kyiv capital region. UNESCO officials compiled their tally from a number of on-the-ground sources. This is apparently meant to be a preliminary damage assessment that will hereafter be updated on a regular basis once the process for reporting is established.

The new survey counted 126 religious sites, 150 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 31 museums, 19 monuments, 14 libraries, and one archive. Among the most significant damaged sites are the National Palace of Arts in Kyiv and many buildings in the endangered historic city center of Ode...

African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund: Another $4 million will go toward preserving Black churches

2024-02-02T12:20:00-05:00

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced another round of funding totaling $4 million that will be put towards preserving Black churches in 22 states across the country.

The program’s second round of funding for the two-year-old Preserving Black Churches initiative will help maintain the legacies of 31 churches.

Black churches in the United States are at the center of the country's lifelong fight for democratic reforms and are a key character in the story of African American's survival and resilience in America. As the historian and advisor to the Action Fund, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explained, “Black churches have been at the forefront of meaningful democratic reform since this nation’s founding. They’re a living testament to the resilience of our ancestors in the face of unimaginably daunting challenges.”

“The heart of our spiritual world is the Black church. These places of worship, these sacred cultural ...

New Terner Center study assesses the impact of SB 4's implementation in California

2023-09-16T10:37:00-04:00

A new study from the University of California, Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation has uncovered over 171,749 acres of developable land owned by nonprofit colleges or faith-based organizations in the state, bolstering the aims of the “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement as it pushes Governor Gavin Newsom to sign SB 4 by the end of next month.

The bill passed the state senate along with the related SB 423 on Monday. If signed into law, it would streamline the process by which churches and other nonprofit organizations can enact housing at sites that previously had been limited by local land use restrictions and the California Environmental Quality Act (or CEQA).

Supporters of the measure have said it will help increase housing in much-needed communities where displacement and homelessness have become the norm as rising expenses and pushback on the part of local municipalities in the wake of SB 9 threaten to derail efforts statewide.

Previously on Archinect: Plan to let churc...

Ukraine has lost almost 500 churches and religious sites since the start of the Russian invasion

2023-02-25T08:00:00-05:00

As a result of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least 494 religious buildings, theological institutions, and sacred places were wholly destroyed, damaged, or looted by the Russian military. The Ukrainian Institute for Religious Freedom presented this updated data on the impact of the war on Ukrainian religious communities on January 31 and February 1 during the Summit on International Religious Freedom (IRF Summit 2023) held in Washington, D.C.

The Institute for Religious Freedom reported Russia’s tactic of using churches for military bases and hiding spots. Clergy members have also been targeted as part of the longer-term goal of destroying the Ukrainian language and culture. (The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which accounts for 48% of the survey, famously broke away from Moscow in a May 2022 declaration.)

Graphic courtesy Institute for Religious Freedom (source)

Non-Christian sites afflicted include the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial (which includes a synagogue designed by Manuel Herz) and several mosques. The destruction of holy buildings and other cultural property nevertheless pales in comparison to the waste of life on both sides of the conflict. The latest estimates from the UN human rights office have at least 8,006 civilian deaths in the country over the past twelve months, with the actual death toll of non-combatants likely much higher.

Trahan Architects begins construction on a new chapel for Loyola University in New Orleans

2021-06-21T15:37:00-04:00

Ground was broken last week for an immaculate new chapel at Loyola University in New Orleans.

The naturalistic modern sanctuary by Trahan Architects will sit at the heart of the university’s Audubon campus and serve as a communal space for Loyola’s 16,000 students.

Containing a series of smaller circles connected in a ring to the larger circular design of the chapel, the 5,000-square-foot sacred space brings together natural light and cast-in-place concrete in a variegated composition with views of an adjacent live oak tree that offers worshippers a thoughtful reflection on the natural world.

The new church's 120-seat interior. Image: Trahan Architects

“A faith that does justice is core to a Loyola education, and this new space will be transformative for our Jesuit Catholic mission,” Rev. Justin Daffron, Loyola University’s Vice President of Mission & Identity, said in a statement.

The firm was able to complete its design concept via a series of pandemic-induced backyard experiment...