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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... View full entry
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... View full entry
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”. — The Guardian
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... View full entry
An actor from Tamaulipas has created a project that would give the state’s capital, Ciudad Victoria, the world’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ.
Eduardo Verástegui Córdoba explained that the 77-meter-high statue and a complex to be built around it will be known as The Christ of Peace.
He said that the purpose of the project is to leave a legacy of peace for the state in which he was born.
— Mexico News Daily
Besides the enormous statue of Jesus Christ, the ambitious project is also expected to provide a large plaza for 10,000 people, a church of course, a convention center as well as facilities for retail, dining, hospitality, shopping, entertainment, transportation, and housing. Mexican actor Eduardo... View full entry
The Museum of the Bible recently opened in Washington, D.C. packed with screens and interactive exhibits. The 430,000-square-foot building was designed by SmithGroup JJR and cost a total of $500 million. Formerly a refrigerated warehouse, this space has been turned into quite an extravaganza. The... View full entry
At the center of the royal funeral is a $30 million, nine-spire structure where the beloved monarch’s body will be cremated. For months now, legions of Thai architects, designers, artisans, and craftsmen have been working on the funeral complex in Bangkok’s Sanam Luang field. They’ve erected a series of golden pavilions festooned by thousands of elaborate sculptures, textiles, art works and sandalwood flowers. — Quartz
Architect Theerachat Weerayuttanon and art technician Korkiat Thongphut of the Thai Ministry of Culture — and fervent devotees of the country's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej — worked feverishly to present a crematorium design fit for a deity when they were tasked with the job only hours after... View full entry
In 1966, a 24-year-old architect who had just graduated from Tehran University hesitantly entered a competition to design a monument to mark the 2,500-year celebration of the founding of the Persian empire. [...]
The architect, Hossein Amanat, had no idea that his hastily prepared design, which went on to win the competition, would one day become a focal point of the Iranian capital’s skyline, serving as a backdrop to some of the country’s most turbulent political events.
— The Guardian
The Azadi tower, he said, was an opportunity to “design modern architecture using old language, to preserve the good things about a culture, leave aside the meaningless parts and create something new and meaningful”. View full entry
What would America be without immigrants? More to the point, what would architecture be without the ability for those working within it to freely travel and collaborate with (much more affordable) talent from around the world? In recognition of these facts, the AIA has released an official... View full entry
Whether you frequently visit a religious space or not, there are plenty of projects out there that are worthy of praise in their own right, as seen in the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards Program. Founded in 1978 and co-sponsored by Faith & Form Magazine and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA), the annual competition scopes out the best in religious architecture, liturgical design, and art for religious spaces. — Bustler
Open to all, from architects to clergy to students, the 2016 Faith & Form/IFRAA Awards concluded with 28 winning projects based worldwide. Categories included New Facilities, Restoration, Liturgical/Interior Design, Sacred Landscape, and more. Here are a few of the winners:Sacred... View full entry
With its indoor theme park and helipad, this building might seem more like it would belong in Las Vegas, but this towering Hindu temple is set to become the world's tallest religious skyscraper. [...]
At 700 feet (210 metres), the temple will be taller than India's Taj Mahal, which stands at 239 feet (73m) tall, as well as St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, which measures 422 feet (128.6m).
— Daily Mail
The illustration below shows the greater master plan for Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir. The project website has this description:"The skyscraper temple-cum-heritage project, conceived of by the devotees of ISKCON-Bangalore, will consist of a grand temple of Lord Sri Krishna at its centre. The... View full entry
The park’s centerpiece features three decks of exhibits explaining Answers in Genesis’ views of the biblical flood account..[It] also features a two-story restaurant, aerial zipline cables and the Ararat Ridge Zoo...
“...in a world that we see becoming very secularized before our eyes, it’s really time for Christians to do something of this size, of this quality, that competes with the Disneys and the Universals to get a message to the world.”
— The Charlotte Observer
This might be worth a pitstop for anyone planning a U.S. summer road trip. Envisioned by the Creationist apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, a replica of Noah's Ark — measuring 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high — opened last week as the centerpiece of the Ark Encounter theme... View full entry
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.
— theguardian.com
Related news stories on Archinect:Ancient Italian church comes back to life – built in wire meshOmaha is building a Tri-Faith campus with a church, a mosque and a synagogue (no joke)Why Modern Architecture Struggles to Inspire Catholics View full entry
A mosque, a church and a synagogue go up on the site of an old Jewish country club ...
It sounds like the setup to a joke — but it's not. It's actually happening in Omaha, Neb. The Tri-Faith Initiative may be the first place in history where these three monotheistic faiths have built together, on purpose, with the intention of working together. [...]
Similar initiatives are underway elsewhere. One in Berlin would house all three religions in a single building.
— npr.org
Similar tri-faith building initiatives are also germinating in other parts of the world: A church-mosque-synagogue, in Berlin View full entry
A court in Venice has refused to fast-track a legal claim filed by the Icelandic Art Center (IAC) seeking the reopening of artist Christoph Büchel’s mosque, which launched earlier this year in a disused church in Venice as part of the Biennale.
The IAC is the commissioner of the controversial project, which was housed in the former Catholic church [...]. The mosque closed at the end of May after only two weeks when city officials claimed that it breached health and safety regulations.
— theartnewspaper.com
Previously in the Archinect News: Police Shut Down Mosque Installation at Venice Biennale View full entry
Construction has begun on the future Centre Européen du Judaïsme (European Centre of Judaism) in the 17th arrondissement of Paris [...].
The planned cost of the project is €10m, with €2.7m in state and regional public funding, and it is due to be completed in spring 2017. Covering 4,900 sq. m over eight floors, the Jewish centre will include a synagogue, library, theatre and classrooms. The new building has been designed by the local architects Bruno Fléchet and Stéphane Maupin [...].
— The Art Newspaper
