• +441438941158
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Postmodern Church Architectural Design

User Rating: 4 / 5

Star ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar Inactive
 
interior view of the main hall of the church from the entrance
  • interior space of a postmodern church with long vertical stained glass and wooden furniture
  • Main hall of a church with square central axis and glass windows
  • The architectural plan of a postmodern church
When it comes to spiritual and sacred spaces design, concepts and ideas are the major issues. The way a designer interprets the thoughts and beliefs of that specific belief into architecture is the most challenging part of the design, and it reveals a lot about the designer as well as the client.

During the modern era, traditional ways of sacred space design were also affected, and “religious” architectural elements were replaced with deeper, more personal components were created in a variety of form by different architects, reflecting the thoughts and feelings of them purely.

Perhaps the most well-known spiritual architecture in modern style is "Our Lady of the Heights," the Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France by Swiss-French Architect Le Corbusier.

Post-modern ideas shifted otherwise to history and culture. Construing the meaning of historical elements and forms, and creating new meanings out of the synthesis of yesterday and today, and even tomorrow is what post-modern philosophy is about.

This project was the architectural design of a church complex for a charity with a limited budget. The agreed design concept was inspiring from local historical architecture. The result turned out as a contemporary translation of the architectural language of the surrounding heritage buildings.

It was formalized as a serial array of sculptural vaulted arches colliding at a central axis, an aspiration or an expression of traditional religious architectural motifs.

The margins of the vaults were covered with wooden lines, and from where the rows of pews started, between each vault, a thin, long stained glass window with the wooden frame was placed, emphasizing on the rows and creating a spectacular perspective.

A false ceiling hanging from the structural vaults were placed on housing all air conditioning, lighting and fire services above, and to meet technical acoustic requirements successfully.

The central axis of the main hall is the diameter of a square, and the vaults are placed on the two adjacent sides of it. The altar of the church hall is created on the angle of the square, at the center of the sitting rows as you see in the architectural renders.

Few stairs detach the alter from the rest of the hall, and flooring differs this spot of the space from the rest even more: wooden flooring for the alter and stone tiles for the sitting area. The most prominent element of the church hall is the alter windows, colorful huge glass walls with minimal design, in contrast to the more traditional style of the side windows drawings.

Not so many artificial light sources are placed, and the main light source is the stained glass windows since dim lighting in such spaces contributes to the sacred feeling of the space and invites the visitors to cogitate and experience a journey from within. Complete symmetry enhances the quiet, tranquil and spiritual atmosphere of the church.

About The Project

Architect:
John Balash

Rating:
★★★★☆

Date:
2019

Country:
Germany

Assistants:
Alex Hudson

Project Type:
Religious

SQ. FT:
7316.8


Comments

1500 Characters left