Work has been completed on the Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. The church is the second Calatrava-designed project to be completed at the World Trade Center Memorial site in New York City, following his World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which opened in 2016.

Calatrava’s church is steeped in symbolism, largely influenced by Byzantine architecture. The church’s dome features 40 windows and 40 ‘ribs’ to echo the 40 ribs of Saint Nicholas, visible from both the interior and exterior. Outside, the structure is constructed of Pentelic marble to reference the same marble used on the Parthenon in Athens, while the accentuated corner towers of the scheme are clad in bands of white and gray marble reminiscent of the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, Turkey.

At night, the church’s dome is illuminated from within, creating what the design team calls a “beacon of hope amid the night.” The glow is made possible by the dome’s structure of thin stone and glass laminated panels, illuminated from behind. To achieve the lighting design, Calatrava collaborated with DLR Group with a mission of making the church read as solid stone by day, and glow “by the light of 10,000 candles” at night.

Inside, the main altar of the church sits underneath the central dome while recesses on the north and south axis are lit by translucent arched windows. The eastern recess removes the arched windows in order to allow the iconography above the main altar to be read as a single uninterrupted image.

Meanwhile, the iconographic program of the church’s shrine was painted by a priest-monk from a 1,000-year-old monastery in Greece before being transported to New York for installation by the monk.

“To see the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine finally open is emblematic of Lower Manhattan’s storied future and defining past,” said Santiago Calatrava. “I hope to see this structure serve its purpose as a sanctuary for worship but also as a place for reflection on what the city endured and how it is moving forward. Architecture can have an intrinsic symbolic value, which is not written or expressed in a specific way but in an abstract and synthetic manner, sending a message and thus leaving a lasting legacy.”

News of the scheme comes after Milwaukee recently celebrated Santiago Calatrava Day in honor of the architect’s iconic Quadracci Pavilion on the city’s waterfront.