Archinect - News

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...

Dabbagh Architects’ first mosque project gives an enlightening new spiritual resource to Dubai's Al Quoz district

2021-12-21T17:04:00-05:00

A bright new spiritual center is finally open in Al Quoz, the industrial heart of Dubai.

Dabbagh Architects is behind one of the first mosques in the Emirates ever designed by a female architect.

Photo: Gerry O’Leary

A masterwork of materiality and form, the newly-completed mosque evokes a sense of inner calm to its worshippers, offering a spiritual break from the materialism of the outside world as promoted in the Quran.

Sumaya Dabbagh is one of only a handful of Saudi women architects and is considered a leader in the Gulf region for her designs, which “place an emphasis on the intangible in architecture; seeking to create meaning and a sense of the poetic in order to form a connection with each building’s user.”

Photo: Gerry O’Leary

“At the end of each project, my hope is that the building will evoke the feelings and emotions that were envisioned at the outset,” the architect said in a statement. “There is a defining, magical moment when the building is born and claims a life of...

Notre Dame gets the green light from French officials for controversial interior refurbishment ahead of 2024

2021-12-10T20:41:00-05:00

France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission approved proposals by the diocese of Paris to bring a more modern look to Notre-Dame before its planned reopening in 2024, including the installation of contemporary artworks and new lighting effects. Opponents say the changes will debase the 850-year-old cathedral and disturb the harmony of its Gothic design.

The controversial refurbishment struck a chord with many in the past two weeks who responded to publicized details with claims that the new ecumenical design authored by Father Gilles Drouin was sacrilegious, and incongruous with the Catholic tradition.

Much of the church's nave, transept, and high altar were damaged as a result of the roof collapse and are now set to be reborn in a scheme that includes light projections and other tech-laden interventions.

“Don’t think we’re going to make Disneyland,” Notre-Dame’s Rector Patrick Chauvet told the New York Times. “The church is 2,000 years old — it is an old lady,” he said. “It has a history that we must respect, that today’s people cannot erase with a stroke of the pen.”

The Catholic Church's plans for the reimagined Notre-Dame de Paris interior are drawing sharp criticism online

2021-12-03T14:50:00-05:00

Will the fire-ravaged interior of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris be more like Disneyland than France’s most emblematic place of worship when it reopens after a major restoration? So fear the outraged critics of a new interior design for the monument which was presented during a video conference earlier this year.

Father Gilles Drouin is the man behind the new interiors, which he says are meant to respond to the multicultural visitorship that was originally not taken into consideration by the church, which spoke to a largely Christian audience before the fire.

Critics have panned Drouin’s vision, objecting not only to the ecumenical content but also its delivery via seemingly tacky digital projections and other forms of tech-heavy interventions meant to engender a network of “emotional spaces.”

“It’s Notre-Dame de Paris turned into Disneyland,” architect Maurice Culot told TAN. “It does not make any sense, we are rebuilding the cathedral and the spire as it was, with ancient materials like stone, wood and lead, and now we’ll have a theme park for foreign tourists inside. Why wasn’t the design entrusted to the same architects to maintain unity between the inside and outsid...

Beyer Blinder Belle renovates mid-century modern landmark church in Washington, D.C.

2021-11-01T17:17:00-04:00

New York-based architecture practice Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) is known for projects that focus on the "planning, restoration, and the design of new buildings." Their latest project for the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., focuses on expanding and renovating one of D.C.'s historic mid-century modern church sites.

Designed by American architect Harold E. Wagoner in 1967, BBB continued with its 2016 master plan for the Church by designing two additions that offer new meeting rooms and added public space for members. According to firm Partner Hany Hassan, FAIA: "Our work introduces a contemporary entry and new central staircase, expressive and open in design, to draw people through all three levels of the Church."

The new buil...

Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira realizes white concrete church in France

2018-02-13T15:18:00-05:00

The Pritzker Prize winning architect, Álvaro Siza, has completed a white concrete church in France's Brittany region. The church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, consecrated over the weekend in the presence of over 300 people, is the first church built in the area in over 40 years—the only, thus far, Breton church of the 21st century.

Joao Morgado Architecture Photography.

The sacred building, costing 3 million euros, was ordered by the diocese of Rennes to better meet current needs. Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, a commune in the Northwestern part of France, has a thriving Catholic community and the new church is more centrally located to where people live, near the residential area south of Rennes with five-story housing blocks.

Joao Morgado Architecture Photography.

The design by Siza, for which he provided 600 details, combines a minimalistic aesthetic with an opening onto the city. His use of light and white concrete provides a unique ceremonial space that is integrated into the urban f...