Archinect - News

Sagrada Familia reaches important construction milestone

2023-10-03T18:41:00-04:00

More than 140 years after a Spanish bishop laid the cornerstone of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica, the famously incomplete church is inching toward the finish line, with five of its six central towers now finally fully built as of last week.

The four completed towers symbolize the Evangelist authors of the Bible’s canonical Gospels. The tallest tower, which represents Christ, will follow in 2026. Some doubts remain as to whether or not the construction timeline can stick to its scheduled completion by the end of that year, which will also see Barcelona’s turn as the UIA World Capital of Architecture.

A small contingent of residents who claim the destruction of Gaudí's papers by Anarchists during the Spanish Civil War constitutes grounds for an injunction remains an impediment. Controversial plans for a monumental grand staircase entrance to the Glory facade are also continuing over concerns of displacement that have marred their construction since the late 1970s.

Scaffolding at the site is expected to be removed soon.

Sagrada Família construction once again draws the ire of locals in Barcelona

2021-12-01T12:08:00-05:00

A gigantic 12-pointed star was installed on Monday on one of the main towers of the basilica of the Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece that has been a work in progress since 1882. [...] However, their main anxiety is that the foundation will go ahead with its plan to build an enormous stairway leading up to the basilica’s as-yet-unfinished main entrance which, if fully realised, would entail demolishing three entire city blocks, dislodging about 1,000 families and businesses.

Opponents have described the installation of the star as "aesthetically horrible" while the Archbishop of Barcelona called it "[a] historic moment after a year of darkness and tireless struggle."

The site has lost a considerable amount of money in the past year due to a tourist downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Losses of around 47,000 visitors a day have effectively shut down Barcelona's reviled tourism boom and halted construction on the 19th-century project which was expected to finally come to fruition in 2026 by at least two years, according to The Guardian.

Kengo Kuma sets in stone an impressive stereotomic-inspired cathedral intervention in Western France

2021-10-28T19:17:00-04:00

Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA) has begun construction on a much-needed cathedral addition that will add a contemporary feel in "harmonious dialogue" with a 12th-century structure set on the edge of the historic Loire Valley in France.

The cathedral is host to several important polychromatic sculptures from the Middle Ages which will be protected by the new intervention.

With preservation in mind, KKAA’s design will transform the western portal of the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice in Angers into an improved entrance that presents the stone relics in an open gallery with sculptural archways and improved wayfinding from the outside into the bifurcated portal.

Viewed from the western entrance, the addition presents an astounding visual symmetry with the 900-year-old rebuilt Gothic cathedral. The grooved rectangular intervention is a few meters removed from the original structure, cast using stonework processes that...

Syrian government to build replica of Hagia Sophia

2020-07-30T12:44:00-04:00

According to Duvar English, the Syrian government has announced that it will build a replica of Instanbul's Hagia Sophia after the Turkish government recently converted it into a mosque. Moscow will provide funding for the project "to show the importance of 'peaceful dialogue' between faiths." Built in 537, the Hagia Sophia is a classic example of Byzantine architecture and was then the largest interior space in the world. The structure is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Largest Gothic cathedral in the world to become COVID-19 field hospital in New York

2020-04-10T16:05:00-04:00

The vast interior of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan stood empty on Monday, the thousands of chairs that normally sit beneath its soaring ceiling and stained-glass windows removed to make room for a more grim sight: a coronavirus field hospital.

Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City tells The New York Times, “Traditionally, in earlier centuries, cathedrals were always used this way, like during the plague. So this is not outside the experience of being a cathedral, it is just new to us.”

French Senate: Notre-Dame must be rebuilt to "last known visual state”

2019-05-29T14:20:00-04:00

On Monday evening, the French Senate approved the government's Notre-Dame restoration bill - but added a clause that it must be restored to the state it was before the blaze

The French senate has stepped into the fray over how to rebuild Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris by passing a bill approving the government’s planned restoration effort with the added requirement that the cathedral be rebuilt to its "last known visual state.”

Notre-Dame competition an extraordinary opportunity, says Norman Foster. https://t.co/uQxmDZgHbz pic.twitter.com/FPpQgUmckF
— Royal Fine Art (@RoyalFineArt) April 20, 2019

The move is a rebuke to French prime minister Edouard Philippe, who promptly called for an international competition to find a suitable rebuilding plan following the April 15 blaze. Norman Foster and others have weighed in on the proposed improvements, which include visions for new glass spires, evocative light installations, and other eclectic approaches.

As the government’s legislative bodies move to set a plan and gather funds to launch the restoration, a disagreement over how to proceed will be one to watch.

The cultural and historic impact of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral

2019-04-15T16:46:00-04:00

In light of the recent Notre Dame Cathedral fire, many have posted photos and stories remembering the historic landmark across social media. As news of the fire's progression airs around the world, we can not help but stay optimistic for the cathedral's recovery. Although the public eye may be focused on the structure's current state, let us take a moment to recall the historical and cultural importance of this famed Parisian landmark.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, view from the River Seine. Image © Carol Blyberg (flickr acct: smilla4)

Notre Dame Cathedral - cross section. Image courtesy of pitt.edu

Considered one of the most notable structures in Paris, the 850-year old building is located in the center of the River Seine on a small island called Ile de la Cite. The name Notre-Dame de Paris, which translates to "Our Lady of Paris," began its construction in 1163 and took nearly 200 years to complete. It is recorded that the cathedral's completion took place during the reign of Kin...

Notre Dame is falling apart and relying on US donations for major repairs

2018-08-15T14:21:00-04:00

One of Europe’s most visited sites, with about 12 million tourists a year, is in dire need of repairs. Centuries of weather have worn away at the stone. The fumes from decades of gridlock have only worsened the damage. “Pollution is the biggest culprit,” says Philippe Villeneuve, architect in chief of historic monuments in France. “We need to replace the ruined stones. We need to replace the joints with traditional materials. This is going to be extensive.”

Notre Dame faces major repairs as the historic Cathedral's structure decays due largely to pollution. Funding for the repairs needed were difficult to raise as the cathedral is owned by the French government, yet their arrangement allows the Catholic archdiocese of Paris to use it for free. Both claimed the other responsible for raising funds, however the archdiocese stepped up creating Friends of Notre Dam last year.

The organization allows US citizens to make tax deductible contributions to the renovation of this historic landmark. Friends of Notre Dame hope to raise $114 million within the next five to 10 years.

First photos of Edoardo Tresoldi's wire mesh cathedrals at Coachella

2018-04-13T14:00:00-04:00

Gates just opened at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and for the next two weekends, droves of festival goers will flock to the small town of Indio, California to see their favorite bands, performers (Beyoncé, anyone?)—and a host of large-scale art installations by emerging artists, designers, and architects.

One of the most anticipated pieces this year is the site-specific installation Etherea by Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi, who gained enormous popularity worldwide with his stunning wire mesh sculptures inspired by classical architecture. Even though Tresoldi has collaborated with a number of music festivals before, such as Life Is Beautiful, Roskilde, The Secret Garden Party, Eaux Claires, and DERIVE, this new Etherea installation is Tresoldi's biggest artwork to date and is also the largest of the Coachella art pieces.

"Etherea" by Edoardo Tresoldi at Coachella 2018 © Roberto Conte

Here is how Tresoldi explains Etherea: "[...] research, focused on the experie...

Russian artist burns Gothic cathedral made of sticks at Maslenitsa carnival

2018-02-19T18:44:00-05:00

A 30m-tall Gothic cathedral built of branches and twigs that was set alight on Saturday (17 February) causing controversy in Russia. The burning took place at Nikola-Lenivets, a rural artists’ colony 200km south of Moscow, and was the culmination of pre-Lenten carnival festivities known as Maslenitsa. The event is often likened to the US Burning Man festival.

Artist Nikolay Polissky, founder of Nikola-Lenivets, creates impressive land art installations to burn for Russia's Maslenitsa festival each year. This Russian folk tradition is celebrated during the last week before Lent and traditionally ends with the burning of a scarecrow.

This year, the festival's title was Flaming Gothic, which is the literal Russian translation of the ornate architecture style. Although it was in line with the theme of the festival, Polissky's cathedral sparked controversy after the images and videos of it burning went viral. Some claimed it was an attack on Christianity and Russian Orthodoxy, while others asserted this played into Russian nationalist propaganda.

Flaming Gothic installation by Nikolay Polissky at Maslenitsa 2018 festival. Image: Andrei Nikerichev.

Far from his intentions, Polissky explains, “There was nothing of religious worship in my art object, of course there were no crosses, altar or any religious symbols. This is not a copy of any exis...

UK cathedrals go crazy on social media for #architectureday

2017-10-05T12:56:00-04:00

Who would have thought cathedral accounts on social media would be so entertaining? Some social media users were certainly amused earlier this week when St Paul's Cathedral in London, boasted about how, on World Architecture Day, England's cathedrals "have got this well covered".

St Paul's Cathedral in London initiated a church face-off on social media for architecture day. Churches and Cathedrals responded bragging about their buildings and mocking fellow churches. Religious architecture has never been so funny.

Chartres Cathedral restoration stirs up debate about historic authenticity

2017-09-05T17:35:00-04:00

The restoration aims not only to clean and maintain the structure, but also to offer an insight into what the cathedral would have looked like in the 13th century. Its interior was designed to be a radiant vision, as close to heaven on earth as a pilgrim might come, although many modern visitors have responded more with shock than with awe. The architecture critic Martin Filler has described the project as a “scandalous desecration of a cultural holy place.”

The decade-long restoration of Chartres' grand cathedral (rebuilt in its current Gothic style between 1194 and 1220) isn't going over without controversy: is the dirt that's currently being scrubbed off its walls, ceilings, and even Madonna statues, part of the building's history or merely melancholic kitsch that prevents the structure from radiating in its intended airy brightness?

Archbishop of Paris launches €100 million campaign to save the chipping gothic arches of Notre Dame

2017-08-30T16:55:00-04:00

Church officials, who have created what they are calling a “stone cemetery” from fallen masonry, say the cathedral remains safe to visit. Entry is free and the French state, which owns the building, devotes €2m (£1.9m) a year to repairs. But that is not enough to embark on major restoration works, the last of which were carried out during the 1800s, officials at the cathedral and charity said.

The archbishop of Paris launched a €100m fundraising campaign for Notre Dame's extensive restoration works. The 12th century cathedral on the Seine river—one of Paris' biggest landmarks, is visited by up to 14 million people visit per year.

“Gargoyles are what people want to see when they come to Paris. If there are no more gargoyles, what will they see?” said Andre Finot, Notre Dame’s communications chief.

A giant robotic spider climbed around a cathedral in Ottawa, and local Catholics called it "demonic"

2017-08-07T14:59:00-04:00

But as Canadian Catholic News reported, some individuals were far from impressed with the 65-foot-long spider, which rises 18 feet when at rest and over 42 feet when in motion. Critics expressed their outrage on the archbishop Terrence Prendergast’s Facebook wall, with one woman reportedly describing Kumo as “disturbing, disappointing, and even shameful.” Others apparently referred to it as “demonic” and “sacrilegious.”

Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary over the weekend of July 27th. Part of the celebration featured giant robots put on by La Machine, a street theatre company that constructs unusual objects for performances in public spaces. The company built two robots, a mechanical dragon-horse hybrid and a giant mechanical spider, that spent the celebratory weekend walking around Ottawa and engaging in dramatic battles.

Found via La Machine's facebook.

As part of the performance, La Machine installed the spider on the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. The Cathedral, led by archbishop Terrence Prendergast, had agreed to feature Kumo, the mechanical spider, when approached by the theatre company, seeing it as a way to cooperate with the city and be a part of the celebration. The Cathedral also sits opposite the National Art Gallery and the famous Louise Bourgeois bronze arachnid, "Maman," making it the perfect location to feature La Machine's very own arachnid.

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Design for Tijuana Cathedral nixed for 'not looking like a cathedral'

2017-06-02T17:44:00-04:00

The architect Eugenio Velazquez has had a tough couple years. Back in 2012, he was jailed for smuggling cocaine from Mexico into the United States. Now, his design for a new cathedral in Tijuana has been shut down—11 years after work first started.

The Archbishop of Tijuana, Francisco Moreno Barrón, cancelled the project because he felt that Velazquez’s contemporary design didn’t look like a cathedral. So now he’s launched a competition for a new, assumedly more traditional, design. It’s open only to Mexican architects, although foreigners are allowed to team up with Mexican ones.

“In its eagerness to be modern, the project does not resemble a Catholic temple, much less a cathedral,” Archbishop Barrón wrote in a statement.

The whole project has a rather dark side to it. While the site was obtained back in the late ‘70s, construction was delayed due to the 1993 assassination of the previous archbishop of Tijuana, Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, who was mistaken for a drug lord. And Velazquez...

Artist catalogs the drab architecture of America's megachurches

2016-05-03T13:50:00-04:00

Lisa Anne Auerbach created a ‘megazine’ of structures reminiscent of shopping malls or warehouses, hidden away from city centers, where thousands of people worship every week [...] The conception of the cathedral is not only where one goes to be spiritual or commune with God, but to feel awe through the grandeur of the architecture [...] the US megachurch buildings are stripped wholesale of that sense of wonder and connection to the past; they are also far from the focal point of a city.

The "Lunatic Builder" who spent 50 years (and counting) building a cathedral

2015-06-30T14:25:00-04:00

There were never any construction plans or official permission. Everything is in my head. I am not an architect or a stonemason. I have never had any training in the building profession. My basic education was interrupted by the Civil War. I was inspired by books about cathedrals, castles and other religious buildings and they gave birth to my own work...—Don Justo Gallego Martínez

Born into humble means in the Spanish town of Mejorada del Campo in 1925 and having worked as a farmer and a bullfighter, Don Justo Gallego Martínez lived in a Trappist monastery for eight years until he was forced to leave when he contracted tuberculosis. Don Justo, who never had any training as an architect or a builder, was "left with [nothing but] the strong conviction that God wanted him to build a temple." And so he did. The year was 1963 when Don Justo first laid the foundation of the Cathedral in Mejorada that he continues to build today.

Perceived by neighbors as "The Lunatic Builder" because he was building without any authorized permission, Don Justo remained steadfast in his spiritual mission — with the help of public donations and technical advice — to keep working on his temple until "the end of [his] days".

Sounds like a movie, right?

Well, director James Rogan created a short documentary in 2010 based on Don Justo's ongoing story called "The Madman and the Cathedral". Y...

Sports stadium architecture: Welcome to the new temples of pleasure

2014-12-15T13:27:00-05:00

"It's like creating a contemporary cathedral in some ways [...]" "Often the stadium is meant to become the pride of a city, a landmark object, and as such, a monument representing the latest achievements in architecture." Since ancient Greeks built the first Olympic stadium in fine white marble, the arena has been as much about inspiring awe, as staging competition. Today's architects must go even further.

Sculptures on NYC's Cathedral of St. John the Divine depict a modern-day apocalypse

2013-10-08T20:09:00-04:00

On the Portal of Paradise on the western façade of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan are sculptures of the end of modern New York. The Brooklyn Bridge is breaking in two, a bus plummeting from it into the water while waves rise up over the toppling skyline. People run in a panic below the Stock Exchange, and next to them a scorpion, snake, and other signs of pestilence swarm a skeleton.

Cathedral of the Northern Lights inaugurated

2013-02-11T15:18:00-05:00

The new Cathedral of the Northern Lights, situated in the Norwegian town of Alta over 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, has just been inaugurated by the Crown Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit. The 154-foot-high cathedral, designed by Link Arkitektur in collaboration with schmidt hammer lassen architects and Haldde Arkitekter Inc., is perceived as a symbol and an architectural landmark for the entire area.

University of Miami School of Architecture hosts competition to rebuild Haitian cathedral

2012-12-20T13:08:00-05:00

[...] the University of Miami School of Architecture, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and Faith and Form Magazine, has organized a competition to choose the design for the new Cathedral. In the past year, 250 architects around the world have collaborated to submit 134 plans for the reconstruction.