Archinect - News

Vassar's religious community finds a new home in adaptive reuse design from L.E.FT Architects

2024-07-23T17:48:00-04:00

School is out of session for the summer, but Vassar College’s new Center for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices is on our minds after a recently completed project from L.E.FT Architects restored the existing Pratt House into a campus hub for student’s wellness and intellectual growth.

Photo by Michael Vahrenwald/ESTO

Their adaptive reuse of the 109-year-old building turned its three-story Gothic Revival structure into a home for the office and their mission to serve twelve religious and spiritual student groups at Vassar. In what was originally the college warden’s residence, a new kind of space has evolved. In it, the architects say, the restrictive “dichotomies” dividing religious and secular life in America are dissolved into a communal space imbued with tolerance and the desire to enact change.

Photo courtesy L.E.FT Architects

“The conversations that resulted between the diverse and sometimes theologically-opposed participants were dynamic yet r...

Stefano Boeri reveals master plan for vast sacred Buddhist site in Nepal

2023-12-15T18:15:00-05:00

Stefano Boeri Architetti has unveiled a master plan to enhance the Ramagrama Stupa, one of the most significant places in the Buddhist world.

The site is located in Ramagrama, a municipality within the Parasi district in western Nepal. The archaeological destination dates back to the earliest period of the Buddhist tradition. It is covered by a hill and by the centuries-old Bodhi Tree, a sacred tree in Buddhism characterized by a high level of biodiversity. Under this lies a still intact Stupa of Buddha, which is a dirt burial mound faced with stone that contains portions of the relics of Buddha. Today, the site presents itself as a green mound.

Image: Stefano Boeri Architetti

Various organizations and Buddhist communities have committed themselves to the preservation and sustainable enhancement of the Ramagrama Stupa. The aim has been to conserve this site in accordance with the standards set by UNESCO for World Heritage Sites. Stefano Boeri Architetti has, thus, been entrusted wit...

ARQBR Arquitetura e Urbanismo brings a circular concrete church to Brasília

2023-06-26T17:41:00-04:00

Brazilian firm ARQBR Arquitetura e Urbanismo’s Church of the Holy Family is a striking new circular, concrete structure that seeks to connect Brasília’s urban and natural landscape.

Image: Joana França

The church is located on the edge of the capital’s EPIA (Park Road of Industry and Supply), which was one of the main components of the radio-centric road system implemented by Brasília’s planner Lucio Costa.

Image: Joana França

The structure’s architectural concept aims to adopt the relationship between spirituality, nature, and community. It brings together a collection of simple, concrete monoliths, reflecting the three core principles of Brasília’s design.

Image: Joana França

They are the ability to open to the horizon, the inseparability between public and private spaces, and the use of the landscape as a structuring and fundamental element of the architectural configuration.

Image: Joana França

The church’s circular volume is suspended by six pillars. This forms a small opening ...

Reimagining the convent typology to blend spirituality and social engagement

2023-06-12T15:27:00-04:00

Italian architecture and landscape firm Mixtura has designed a wood-structured conventual complex in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, that provides both a space for worship and philanthropic services.

Image: Cesare Querci

The approximately 57,000-square-foot building, called the convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany, was completed as part of a social project that the Bethany Foundation Onlus has been carrying out in Brazil since 2010.

Image: Cesare Querci

The initiative has so far seen the construction of a kindergarten for 120 children from the neighboring favelas. It also includes the construction of a school complex for more than 500 children living in conditions of serious hardship.

Image: Cesare Querci

The complex’s design was formed via a participatory method that involved architects and clients with the shared goal of creating a space that would establish a positive relationship between the users, the built environment, and nature.

Image: Cesare Querci

"As architects, we s...

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.

Adjaye Associates completes Abrahamic Family House, a collection of religious spaces that ‘dissolves the notion of hierarchal difference’

2023-02-24T11:50:00-05:00

Adjaye Associates has completed their Abrahamic Family House project in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The development is comprised of three religious spaces: a mosque, a synagogue, and a church, all of which sit upon a secular visitor pavilion, with a mission of “nurturing the values of peaceful co-existence and acceptance among different beliefs, nationalities, and cultures.”

Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue. Photo credit: Dror Baldinger

Within each of the three places of worship, visitors will be able to observe religious services, listen to scriptures, and experience sacred rituals. The fourth sacred space will meanwhile serve as a center for people of all faiths, offering educational and event-based programming.

“As an architect, I want to create a building that starts to dissolve the notion of hierarchical difference — it should represent universality and totality — something higher, that enhances the richness of human life,” said David Adjaye about the interfaith complex, which is set to open in t...

The architecture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

2023-01-23T11:35:00-05:00

Hinckley dedicated 76 of the 103 temples built between 1983 and his death in 2008. For every traffic-stopping standout like the futuristic San Diego Temple...dozens of small temples, built from standardized plans...In the last 15 years...construction has continued apace, with landmark temples in Paris and Rome punctuating a steady stream of standardized temples...PROLIFERATION AND HOMOGENIZATION of temples around the world reflects a cultural shift for the Church that is still being sorted out

At the end of last year, Gregg Allen wrote about the architecture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how the design of it's meetinghouses, tabernacles and temples have played a key role in shaping LDS identity over the centuries.

Henning Larsen unveils its new design for a 'modern monument' in Copenhagen

2022-10-07T12:34:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has announced their recent commission to design a new church in Copenhagen — the Danish capital’s first in over 30 years.

Set amongst a clearing of trees in a forested area, the Ørestad Church is designed to be a communal gathering nexus that "offers solace" to parishioners and is "untouched by the bustle of the city," according to Global Design Director Jacob Kurek.

Rendering by VividVision. Courtesy of Henning Larsen.

Made of wood and wood shingle, the 18,837-square-foot (1,750-square-meter) church is said to reflect the open landscape and expressive architecture found in Ørestad.

A linear arrangement of clustered volumes aims to reference the treeline of a forest when approached from the adjacent Amager Fælled, a nature reserve in Copenhagen.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen.

Rendering by VividVision. Courtesy of Henning Larsen.

The design's inverted facade creates an "urban shelf" activated by seating niches, gaming areas, and a book exchange that was included as the...

One architect’s passion for multifaith spaces will continue through the work of DJDS

2022-06-06T15:30:00-04:00

The memory of one up-and-coming New York architect is being honored through a donation drive benefitting one of the firms he most admired, Oakland-based Designing Justice + Designing Spaces (DJDS).

Eric Salitsky was killed in Brooklyn on May 5th after being struck by a sanitation vehicle while on his bicycle. A native of Massachusetts, Salitsky studied for his master’s at the Pratt Institute before joining ESKW/Architects, where he continued to make a name for himself in the design and documentation of multifaith community spaces he pursued in the years following his graduation. Salitsky’s work eventually earned him an AIA Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant and curated exhibition in 2019, and he was scheduled to deliver a presentation on the subject at the Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum (ASCF) on June 4th.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eric Salitsky (@esalitsky)

His noted penchant for equity and shared personal drive to foster a mor...

Archaeologists have uncovered a 14th-century sarcophagus underneath Notre Dame Cathedral

2022-03-23T08:30:00-04:00

A pre-construction archaeology dig meant to prepare a critical segment of the reconstructed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has led to the discovery of a lead sarcophagus and several small tombs according to an announcement from the French Ministry of Culture.

The discovery was unearthed directly beneath the 859-year-old cathedral’s transept floor and is thought to contain the remains of a key religious figure dating to the 14th century, which is around the time when Notre Dame’s apse was constructed.

The findings were of “remarkable scientific quality” according to France’s culture minister Roselyne Bachelot. Workers who made the discovery were preparing to install scaffolding at the location for the soon-to-begin historically-accurate re-creation of the church’s spire, which has been promised by the Macron government to be completed in time for the 2024 Olympics.

Several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus l...

OMA's Audrey Imas Pavilion makes its long-awaited debut on Wilshire Boulevard

2022-01-04T18:38:00-05:00

The wait is over for one of the most hotly-anticipated editions to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles in recent memory.

OMA has announced the official completion of its much-heralded Audrey Irmas Pavilion for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown.

The new building offers a unique center for aging in addition to a rooftop terrace and sunken garden that connect through a series of small meeting rooms that provide users the chance to gather in the topmost example of three distinct voids defined by their separate sacred and public meeting spaces wrapped in gray GFRC panels which form a hexagonal motif geometric facade.

Image by Jason O'Rear, courtesy of OMA New York

Back in September, OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu referred to the project as a potential catalyst for a return to mass-scale social interactions, stating that its completion “comes at a time when we hope to come together again,” and that the pavilion “can be a platform to reinstate the importance of gathering, exchange, an...

Perkins&Will unveils designs for an ecumenical pavilion in Brazil's Minas Gerais region

2021-09-13T16:54:00-04:00

A symbolic new communal space is coming to the Brazilian city of Varginha, Minas Gerais State thanks to a new design from Perkins&Will.

The 85-year-old firm is responsible for a new pastoral pavilion that it says will become an ecumenical space within the country’s coffee capital.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

Featuring a corten steel structure and organic design elements that pay homage to the region’s economic and material history, the open-ended triangular design creates a dramatic, bench-lined interior while alluding to the Catholic influence around Minas Gerais and represented in the state’s official flag.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

“Symbolisms in materials and shapes were a simple, smart solution, where the main piece does the entire project work,” Design Principal Douglas Tolaine said in a statement.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

The São Paulo office of Perkins&Will has completed numerous projects within the country that have designs informed by local plant life and traditions. This...

OMA’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion nears completion, their first religious building

2021-09-01T16:01:00-04:00

OMA New York have released an update on their Audrey Irmas Pavilion taking shape in Los Angeles, California. The scheme, designed for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, is OMA’s first cultural building in California, and the first religious institution building in the firm’s portfolio.

Image by Jason O'Rear, courtesy of OMA New York

Having been selected for the scheme’s design in 2015, OMA have progressed construction of the scheme through the COVID-19 pandemic. “The making of the Audrey Irmas Pavilion sustained forward momentum through the COVID-19 Pandemic, a period in which the act of human interaction was questioned and contemplated,” explains Shohei Shigematsu, the OMA Partner in charge of the project. “Its completion comes at a time where we hope to come together again, and this building can be a platform to reinstate the importance of gathering, exchange, and communal spirit.”

Image by Jason O'Rear, courtesy of OMA New York

The 55,000-square-foot pavilion sits adjacent to the cent...

This New Jersey architect is bringing divine inspiration to homes in the COVID-era

2021-08-11T18:43:00-04:00

Before the pandemic, Rachel Grochowski was busy designing yoga studios, movie theaters, upscale bistros and other kinds of crowded gathering spaces tailored to the lifestyle and wellness needs of communities that we all took blissfully for granted in a world without COVID.

Flash forward to the present, and our toned down but still chaotic, pandemic-induced stasis, where the architect is adapting to the growing demand for revitalized interior sanctums with her Montclair, New Jersey-based firm.

As the founder and principal of RHG Architecture+Design, the UW-Milwaukee graduate has been hard at work applying her knowledge of chapels and other religious spaces into remodels of area homes in need of some serious spiritually sprucing up.

Sustainable Home in Montclair, NJ by RHG Architecture+Design

“Design is spiritual. It just depends on how you see it,” Grochowski told Forbes’ Valentina Di Donata.

The spaces are a change of pace for the 18-year-old firm, which had focused on commercial an...

A UNESCO-backed redesign contest is met with controversy in Mosul

2021-07-03T13:55:00-04:00

But in many circles, it has done anything but, prompting an uproar among architects, urban planners and some Mosul residents who say it ignores Iraqi heritage. Perhaps in a nod to the United Arab Emirates, which is footing the bill, the winning design features cream-colored brick and straight angles of the kind found in the Gulf — a contrast to the arches, blue-veined local alabaster and limestone of traditional Mosul buildings.

An 8-member team of Egyptian architects had initially been selected from a lot of 123 for their "Courtyards Dialogue" proposal that will add a cultural center and school to a storied 12th-century mosque complex. The mosque features a leaning minaret that earned its famous nickname of "The Hunchback."

The $50 million restoration project will repair three religious structures in the war-ravaged Iraqi city including the Al-Nouri Mosque at the center of the dispute. The proposed complex was announced in May and has received significant blowback from academics and trade associations ever since.

This recent criticism may derail initial plans for the project to commence in the fall. The New York Times has more detail on the UN-backed competition here.

House of One, Berlin's new worship space for Christians, Muslims, and Jews, to start construction this spring

2021-02-26T14:46:00-05:00

On the site of a church torn down by East Germany’s communist rulers, a new place of worship is set to rise that will bring Christians, Jews and Muslims under one roof – and it has already been dubbed a “churmosquagogue”.

Designed by Berlin-based architects Kuehn Malvezzi, the $57 million House of One project for the historic Petriplatz in Germany's capital has been in a lengthy planning process for the past ten years.

Previously on Archinect: Designing the House of One, a Worship Space for Three Religions by Kuehn Malvezzi

According to The Guardian, the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the building that will incorporate dedicated spaces for each of the three main Abrahamic faiths is scheduled for May 27.

"People of other faiths and denominations, and those of no faith, will be invited to events and discussions in the large hall," reports the paper.

Learn more about the project and the inception story behind it in Archinect's 2016 interview with the architects, Designing the House of One, a Worship Space for Three Religions by Kuehn Malvezzi.

New skyscraper church in Hong Kong seeks to "create a peaceful and solemn" place of worship

2019-10-31T13:57:00-04:00

The Rocco Design Architects-designed tower, which will hold the Wesleyan House Methodist International Church, sits on a teardrop-shaped site in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. With 800 square meters of plot and 11,000 square meters of program, the task proved challenging for the design team. The resulting solution manifests itself as a vertical church that integrates the sanctuary, chapels, activity halls, social service floors, and pastoral offices into the tower.

A pragmatic consideration was implemented in the adjacencies of the program. A large congregation hall sits above the main sanctuary, inviting worshippers to gather after the service. Offices and pastoral residences are situated on adjacent floors, providing a seamless connection for its residents, while still seeking to retain distinct identities.

The exterior language of the structure flexes a subtly curved facade with a solid core east facing wall sporting casement windows as opposed to a curtain wall. A sustainable effort inte...

“In the fractured 21st century, we can respond to a human yearning to come together”: Baha’i Temple of South America by Hariri Pontarini Architects wins 2019 RAIC International Prize

2019-10-25T22:00:00-04:00

Built at the foot of the Andes near Santiago, Chile, the Baha’i Temple of South America by Hariri Pontarini Architects has attracted over 1.4 million visitors since opening in 2016. Tonight during an awards ceremony in Toronto, the RAIC announced the temple as the winner of their 2019 International Prize.

Established in 2013 by notable Canadian architect Richard Moriyama, the biennial CAD$100,000 prize — formerly called the Moriyama RAIC International Prize — honors socially transformative architecture and is open to architects worldwide. The temple was one of three competitive shortlisted projects.

Photo credit: Andrés Silva.

The domed temple plays a significant role for the local community by providing a welcoming space to gather and sit in quiet contemplation. Perhaps the building's most distinctive feature is the nine gracefully torqued wings that form an oculus at the top. The wings are made of an outer layer of cast-glass panels and an interior layer of translucent marble from ...

Battle over Brutalism in Scotland remains unresolved

2019-06-28T12:57:00-04:00

St Peter's Seminary in Cardross is a category A listed building - the highest level of protection for buildings of architectural or historic interest. It was closed as a training college for priests in the 1970s and left to ruin. The Catholic Church described it as an "albatross around our neck".

A battle is brewing in Cardross, Scotland over the uncertain future of St. Peter's Seminary, a 1960s-era Brutalist complex that has been abandoned for nearly 30 years.

Widely considered Scotland's most important 20th Century structure, the seminary was designed by architects Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and opened in 1966 only to be abandoned in the 1980s.

Wrapped in concrete arches and punctuated by a stepped atrium, the pebble-studded complex has been referred to as both Scotland’s best and worst 20th Century building. The seminary was listed as a "Category A" architectural relic in 1992, the country's highest designation for historic buildings. But even with this designation, plans to rehabilitate the structure have fallen short.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Tom Parnell.

Scottish architecture expert Alan Dunlop told the BBC, "I would go as far as saying this building is as important as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art."

Historic Environment Scotland, the country's ...

Exploring the spiritual architecture of Swiss architect Mario Botta

2019-03-29T20:00:00-04:00

The spiritual architecture of Swiss architect Mario Botta is the subject of an exhibition at the Ringturm Exhibition Centre in Vienna. Building studies, drawings, and photography are brought side by side to reach an understanding of how Botta conceptualizes and designs religious experiences through the built environment.

Religious places of worship often prompt a sense of reverence and deep reflection. For some these sacred buildings provide peace, and for others perhaps a bit of anxiety. Nonetheless, Swiss architect Mario Botta has designed and completed 22 religious buildings during his 50-year career as an architect. His first religious architectural project was a chapel at the Bigorio Capuchin monastery in 1966. Since then, Botta's spiritual spaces of worship have made a broad reach internationally, especially in Europe. Currently, three new religious buildings are under construction in China and Seoul.

Throughout his career, Botta has designed synagogues, Catholic churches, and mosques. With this spectrum of open creative application Botta designs each building ...

Japan designs mobile mosques for upcoming 2020 Olympics hospitality

2018-08-29T15:07:00-04:00

The organizers of the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Japan want to ensure that visitors from around the world feel welcomed in their capital [...] Japanese event company, Yasu Project, developed a mobile mosque that will travel throughout the multiple Olympic stadiums. The mosque on wheels is located inside a 25-ton truck, with enough room to fit up to 50 people. It is also equipped with an outdoor rinse station, so that users can participate in a pre-worship cleanse.

In an effort to extend hospitality and cultural inclusion during the 2020 Olympics, Japanese event company Yasu Project has created mobile religious spaces for Muslim attendees. These pop up mosques attempt to solve the issue of limited public and religious infrastructure and the desire for religious spaces.

Mobile mosque designed by Yasu Project for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

Chinese Hui Muslims resist order to demolish new mosque

2018-08-10T14:27:00-04:00

Hundreds of Muslims in north-western China are engaged in a standoff with authorities to prevent their mosque from being demolished. Officials said the newly built Weizhou Grand Mosque in the Ningxia region had not been given proper building permits. But worshippers refused to back down. One resident said they would not "let the government touch the mosque".

The new mosque was completed only last year, and city authorities initially wanted it torn down by Friday, citing a lack of proper planning and construction permits. Amid public outrage, authorities softened their demolition order to a "rectification plan" that demanded a less 'Arab' and more Chinese look.

"The first version of that plan called for the mosque’s 'Arab-style' domes to be replaced with traditional Chinese-style pagodas but was swiftly rejected by worshippers," reports the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "The government then asked the mosque’s management committee to remove eight of the nine domes that top the mosque, leaving the largest one in the centre. That, too, was deemed unacceptable by most members of the community."

Earlier this week, the unannounced demolition of the influential Beijing studio of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei sparked international outrage.

Rowan Moore reviews book on British mosque design

2018-03-14T05:38:00-04:00

The dominant theme is that of the expression of identity, the overwhelming preference in British mosque design being for traditional elements and decoration – especially dome, minaret and arches – applied to sometimes basic box-like structures. From time to time the cry goes up, including in Jonathan Glancey’s introduction to this book, that a “contemporary” Islamic British style should be developed.

There are about 1,500 mosques in Britain most of which have been designed in the last decade. Rowan Moore reviews architect and academic Shahed Saleem's book The British Mosque, a survey looking at why British mosque design is mostly traditional. Saleem presents both sides of the argument for traditional and contemporary designs. While some accuse the traditional of architectural timidity, others argue that innovative design is a financial and cultural luxury.

Muslim-built Taj Mahal in the crosshairs of Hindu nationalists

2017-10-30T15:47:00-04:00

Times are tough for India’s monument to love. Air pollution is turning its marble surface yellow. Restoration work is obscuring its famous minarets. Tens of millions of tourists still flock to Agra each year, but numbers are reportedly waning. Critics of the Taj Mahal are also growing increasingly bold. In past months, religious nationalists in the Hindu-majority country have stepped up a campaign to push the four-century-old Mughal monument to the margins of Indian history.

"Resentment at the fact the country’s most recognisable monument was built by a Muslim emperor has always existed on the fringes of the Hindu right," The Guardian writes. "But those fringes have never been so powerful."

No minarets? No dome? Tehran's modern mosque draws the ire of conservatives

2017-10-24T15:48:00-04:00

But the Vali-e-Asr mosque, designed by the Iranian architects Reza Daneshmir and Catherine Spiridonoff, is stirring controversy in a country that hosts some of the world’s most glittering places of worship. Iranian hardliners are refusing to recognise it as a mosque, complaining that it does not have a minaret or proper dome, and that it is dwarfed by the theatre. [...] The conservative Mashregh News said: [...] It was “an insulting, postmodern design” that is “empty of any meaning”, it said.

Designed by Iranian Fluid Motion Architects and nearly 10 years in the making, the modern appearance of the almost completed Vali-e-Asr mosque in Tehran is facing harsh opposition from Iran's conservative establishment.

"The Vali-e-Asr mosque doesn’t have a minaret, nor a dome; neither did the first mosque," the design architects Reza Daneshmir and Catherine Spiridonoff tell the Guardian. "A mosque is a place for worship, and the Qur’an doesn’t dictate a special structure for it. It’s what it contains that is important."

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.

Atelier Štěpán designs “dematerialized” rotunda church in the Czech Republic

2017-08-29T15:57:00-04:00

In the heart of Sazovice in the Czech Republic, the Church of St. Wenceslas rotunda was designed by Moravian architectural practice Atelier Štěpán. Completed this year, the new church's circular form is based on the rotundas built during St. Wenceslas' time in the 10th century.

Atelier Štěpán redesigned the old rotunda into a new gothic square-shaped chapel within the Prague cathedral. “We circumscribed a circle around the square and continued to design with the same proportions and positioning of altar, entrance and stairs,” Atelier Štěpán says.

Photo: Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma/BoysPlayNice.

The church's interior is pared down with modest decoration and soft lighting in order to create an inviting, peaceful space for meditation. It also houses relics of its patron saint. Curved pews surround an organically shaped, bronze-shell altar.

Photo: Jakub Skokan and Martin Tůma/BoysPlayNice...

Tadao Ando's "head-out Buddha" creates ample opportunities for reflection, both spiritual and literal

2017-08-03T13:39:00-04:00

While Tadao Ando has built religious structures before--famously, the Church of the Light--he has rarely worked with figurative icons of religion, preferring a more abstract approach. This has changed with his open-air prayer hall in the Makomanai Takinoreien Cemetery in Sapporo, Japan, where a previously unsheltered statue of the Buddha has now been reverently housed in Ando's masterful design.

Image: Shigeo Ogawa/Makomanai Takinoreien Cemetery

Prior to Ando, the 44-foot-tall statue had been sitting in a field for 15 years without any additional ornamentation. The scale and placement of the Buddha served less as a spiritual inspiration than a lonely beacon, prompting the commission of Ando to create a suitable home for the Buddha. The resulting open-air prayer hall both shelters the Buddha without disrupting its connection to the sky.

Image: Shigeo Ogawa/Makomanai Takinoreien Cemetery

From afar, visitors can't see the Buddha, only a landscaped exterior shell. Once they enter the tem...

BNIM restores Kansas City's century-old Westport Presbyterian Church

2017-06-06T20:11:00-04:00

Completed in 1905 in one of Kansas City, Missouri's oldest neighborhoods, the Westport Presbyterian Church was in dire need of repair after suffering from a catastrophic fire in 2011. Undertaking all the technical challenges that come with a project of this nature, architecture practice BNIM worked with the congregation to successfully preserve the Church's most sacred elements while creating a new, dynamic space for the community.

The church's exterior limestone shell survived the fire, while its roof structure, interior structure, and finishes were destroyed. Following an analysis of the existing 27,000 square-foot building, BNIM restored the most significant elements in the original structure: the sanctuary, chapel, second floor, and basement. On the other hand, a second building first grafted to the church's east side in 1916 had to be fully reconstructed. BNIM also redesigned the storefront facing Westport Road to be more welcoming and easily accessible....

One brick per Bible verse in Napp Studio's enormous, lightbulb-infused "Archive of Light"

2017-01-05T14:44:00-05:00

The imaginary realm of architecture frequently ventures off into scales that are improbable, if not outright impossible, on the politically and gravitationally constrained Earth (think Étienne-Louis Boullée, or Lebbeus Woods). In a similar if less secular vein, Napp Studio has conceived of an enormous, walkable brick wall that would feature every verse of the bible and/or other spiritual texts inscribed on titled, lightbulb-illuminated bricks. The idea here is to create the sensation of leafing through a book page by page, with each page being loosely represented by a brick.

As the architects note, "The bricks are books written with text of living stories of the everyday reality, yet, a reality with hope. Hope is the most significant spiritual grain we rely on when facing the sometime harsh life, it provides us with strength and will – the light to live on." The massive scale of the project does not place it beyond the realm of the possible, although there's no word yet of an officia...