Churches for a Sunday

Because it is Sunday, and because I haven't posted on this topic in a long while, I present a round-up of interesting churches (the buildings, not the denominations, FYI).

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Waukegan) [via archi dose]

Johnson Chapel at Trinity School

Not really a church, but still cool: Nobody Steps On A Church In My Town! Or Do They?

Several from arch daily:
Pushing La Sagrada Família Forward, about the long process of getting Gaudi's famous cathedral built.

Tampa Covenant Church by Alfonso Architects

AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Honor Award for the Field Chapel

De la Piedra Chapel by Nomena Arquitectos + Ximena Alvarez

Which one do you like best?

Architecture Links

Some random architecture links for you to enjoy:

Via mental_floss, I bring you Couch Cushion Architecture; A Critical Analysis. Very funny.

Loved the photos of the crypt at Church of the Intercession in Harlem.

Via Inspired? Or outta my #*@$+% mind?, Man decorates basement with $10 worth of Sharpie. No, really, its cool.

Architecture Links

The AIA announced the winners of the 2010 Honor Awards recently. Lots of usual suspects on the list (deservedly, I'm sure), including an interiors prize for the Cathedral of Christ the Light by SOM. I visited the Oakland Cathedral soon after it opened and thought it was quite lovely.


So, have you seen Unhappy Hipsters yet? For those who haven't - they post photos from Dwell magazine with commentary on how unhappy everyone looks in their modern masterpiece.

Another snooze-fest of a church at Arch Daily: Parish Church of St Luke the Evangelist by Roman Vukoja & Robert Kriznjak. Okay, okay. Its actually lovely. But why do 90% of the modern churches I see these days look the same?

This is more urban design than architecture but its cool: Dial4Light: Turning Street Lights On Via Mobile Phone.

And at the intersection of books and architecture, this structural book stack from There I Fixed It.

Architecture Links

I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing about architecture at least once a week. I was going through a rough patch at work that not want to think any more about architecture than I had to, to be honest, but I am feeling better and have gotten back in the groove of thinking about it.

Arch Daily has started a new section of their blog devoted to architecture publications. Looks like there will be some interesting stuff going on there.

You may not be aware, but at the end of last year, Switzerland voted to ban the construction of new minarets (Wikipedia has the whole story.) The response was, as you can imagine, pretty dramatic. Here's one little story: When the Swiss Voted to Ban New Minarets, This Man Built One [Via Archinect]

Speaking of Arch Daily, I read an article about St. Benedikt Chapel by Kunze Seeholzer. I just love private little chapels. And this one is particularly lovely.


I'm posting this house - Villa Dali, by 123DV Architecture and seen on Design Milk - because I like it and I think my husband will, too.

Architecture Links

I got an alumni newsletter from UVA recently that mentioned a recent article on Peter Waldman's home in Charlottesville, VA. I was surprised, because the house isn't new at all - the Waldman's had been living there for several years when I visited and that was back in 199-something. Still the article - "Let the sun do it": Peter Waldman's Parcel X is a house of many faces at C-ville Abode - is nice and the house is great. Check it out.

Here's a very different "house" - actually two artists in Brazil.


More pictures at Archinect

Leila at bookshelves of doom visited Grace, a cool new restaurant in Portland, Maine that is housed in a renovated former church. The photos look just lovely - I'd love to visit if I'm ever in Portland.

In stark contrast to how lush Grace looks is this very modern church complex featured on arch daily - Holy Rosary Church Complex by Trahan Architects.

Church Architecture Links

Two churches featured recently on Arch Daily, one familiar, one new to me:


Church of 2000 by Richard Meier. This project was supposed to be built for the millennium (hence the name), but wasn't finished until 2003. I've featured Meier's work for Crystal Cathedral previously. Take a look at both and you can really see that Meier has a style and he's sticking to it, thank you very much.


New Church in Foligno - Doriana e Massimiliano Fuksas The exterior shots of this are really stark and imposing, but make for what looks like an amazing interior. Those cut windows in the concrete evoke two very different projects, for me - Le Corbusier's Ronchamp Chapel and Liebeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin.

Architecture Links: Family Edition

Inspired by my family, here are today's architecture links.

These links are for my husband, who loves treehouses:
Lofty shelterporn: 'New Treehouses of the World'
Offbeat Traveler: Yellow Treehouse restaurant in New Zealand
Modern Tree Living: Creative Treehouse Designs & Plans
This one isn't exactly a treehouse, but it feels like one: Lofted Forest Home: Organic Curves & Natural Materials

For my sister, Archidose has some beautiful photos of the Antioch Baptist Church in Perry County, Alabama by Rural Studio, 2002.

This photo is for my mom, because Salvador Dali always reminds me of her. I'm not really sure why, though.


Via Jezebel, this is a photo of a lamp by Moschino from their new collection of one-of-a-kind melted, twisted homewares inspired by Salvador Dali.

Architecture Links ... and a Secret Room

Here's a wonderful post of beautiful libraries from Curious Expeditions. I've written about a few before, including the Boston Copley Square Library and Beinecke Library at Yale.

More ecclesiastical design from WebUrbanist - this time, it's 15 Amazing Monasteries, Sanctuaries and Abbies. I'd like to point out, though, that there are really only 14 on the list, as the Monastery at Petra is not actually a monastery.

What's behind the bookcase?


Find out at Apartment Therapy.

I also found online directions to build a bookshelf door for your very own secret room.

Architecture Links

Did you hear about the cave house for sale on Ebay? It may be almost as good as living in a secret tunnel. Maybe.

Just in case you've never heard of the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic, aka the Chapel of Bones, I thought I'd post these links. And a warning - when I say bones, I don't mean Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz getting zany.


I've seen this Prayer Chapel in Phoenix by debartolo architects in a few places and I've gone back and forth on what I think. I saw it recently on arch daily here and in Faith & Form, where it was given an IFRAA* award (online here. While I posted what I think is the nicest photo (of course - I'm an architect - I like things to look good!), in the end the project just leaves me cold.

*Interfaith Forum on Art & Architecture, part of the American Institute of Architects.

Art & Architecture Links

Rather than post these one at a time (which I tend to do), I thought I'd try to save these up a bit and write them as one Art & Architecture link post. Some of these are a little old, but whatevs. So, in no particular order -

My cousin is awesome and an awesome dancer/choreographer. I already knew that, but now the Boston Globe does, too.

10 Best Architecture Songs from archdaily.

Also from arch daily, Half of small architecture firms are short of work. Um, that's a "no shit, Sherlock" from those of us in the industry.


Archidose blogged about this Prayer and Meditation Pavilion in Soba, Sudan by Studio Tamassociati. I think it's pretty beautiful in its simplicity, letting shadow and texture do so much.

For the Star Trek and sci-fi fans among us, I present Considering an Alternate San Francisco by Life Without Buildings.

On the same note, there is also the Adaptive Reuse of Crashed Starships, also from Life Without Buildings.

Well, gosh, that should do it for now. I'm sure I'll be back with more soon.

Chapel for St Loup, Switzerland

I've yet to post about the architecture of other churches I've visited (see my previous posts here and here) but this caught my eye on Arch Daily, so I thought I would share.

The Temporary Chapel for the Deaconesses of St Loup

Gorgeous! It's so simple, yet so lovely. I would love to see that in person. There are lots of other photos at Arch Daily, plus plans. Check it out.

Church Architecture: Oakland Cathedral

The new cathedral in Oakland, formally known as the Cathedral of Christ the Light (official site here; wikipedia here), was dedicated September 25. (The Catholic Voice published some great photos of the dedication here.) I didn't have the chance to go to the dedication ceremony, so my office went for a visit last week. (Photos are by my office, unless otherwise noted.)

Here is a view of the Sanctuary building from the entry. The plaza is actually the roof of a building that houses offices and a convention center. (There is also an office building on the opposite side of the plaza.) I think the plaza will be a lot better once all the plantings have had a chance to grow in, especially the ficus planted along the walls.

The baptistry at the entry.

This is the interior of the Cathedral. It was really amazing. The plan of the building is in the shape of an icthys, aka a "Jesus fish." Even more than that, the building was really evocative of a boat for me. The exterior glass wall was, I thought, almost sail-like, and the wood on the interior very much made me think of a boat wooden hull.

The image of Christ over the altar is really interesting, too. It looks like its printed, but its actually perforated metal. I'm undecided if I like it, but its an arresting site.

Here is one of the side aisles next to the altar. I thought the woodwork was very impressive.

The Cathedral was designed by Craig W. Hartman of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, aka SOM. SOM is one of the largest architecture firms in the world, with offices pretty much everywhere (including SF, NYC, London, Hong Kong, etc). So, of course, when you design that much, not all of it is going to be perfect. But unlike a lot of corporate architecture firms, SOM also does some fantastic projects. Some famous buildings they have done over the years include Chicago's Sears Tower, the Air Force Academy chapel in Colorado Springs and, one of my favorites, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale. (Photo below from Wikipedia) The exterior of the library is made out of a translucent marble, which glows with a warm, subtle light. Its an amazing place.


For the mausoleum at the Oakland Cathedral, which is directly below the sanctuary, SOM borrowed this idea for the glowing marble from the Beinecke. This a view from the entry to the musoleum area and one of the cross at the back wall. Its much cooler in person.



While there were some misses (the parish hall for example), generally it was a great church. The sanctuary was warm and inviting, as well as being visually stunning. I hope to go back soon for a service.

Find more photos, plus plans, on SOM's website here.

Church Architecture: Crystal Cathedral

My firm does a lot of work with churches, so I try to see a lot of them. I recently visited several, both old and new, so I will be posting photos and thoughts about these projects in the next week or so.

The first is the Crystal Cathedral Congregation, located in Garden Grove, California, near Anaheim. (All photos are by me.) The Cathedral was designed by prominent architect Philip Johnson and was finished in 1980.

The front of the Cathedral, reflecting the bell tower.

The bell tower and chapel.

Interior. There were some guys working on the organ when I was there. It was pretty impressive to hear it being played.

Its a really compelling space, though I can't comment on what it would be like to attend a service there. I studied this building in school, but I was not really familiar with the other buildings on site, which I also found interesting. The original buildings were designed by Richard Neutra, who is one of the titans of Modern architecture and, according to the tour guide, was very close friends with the original church pastor.

The original Neutra building, flanked by the Cathedral and the Meier building.

Awesome Neutra bell tower. The original sanctuary is at the right. There was an event going on, so I couldn't go in, unfortunately.

The Neutra courtyard and Family Center. It is just textbook California mid-century modernism.

The most recent of the famous architect additions to the site is a visitor center and cafe building, by Richard Meier. This looks like a very classic Meier design to me.

A view of the Meier building, from the plaza.

Entrance to the cafe inside the Meier. Its so... Meier-y. (Edited to add: this is not a bad thing. Meier is a great architect and its a very dynamic space.) The stairs here, by the way, were at about 6 and 14, and were very uncomfortable to walk down.

There is also an unfortunate school building on the property which was designed by a local architect, I believe. I did not take any photos of the school, but picture every boring SoCal office complex and you get the idea.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed my trip to the Crystal Cathedral. Its not often I get to see such an interesting collection of buildings in one place.