09/2003 | BOOK REVIEW |
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reviewed
by Stephanie Stubbs, Assoc. AIA Architecture for the Gods, Book II, pays homage to sacred built form and offers a visual banquet for architects through presentation of more than 50 contemporary projects representing all faiths. Its author, Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, AIA, editor of Faith and Form magazine and adjunct professor of architecture at Roger Williams University, has chosen, sequenced, and described the state of religious architecture in the U.S. today. His reasoned presentation is further enhanced by the exciting visual presentation that is the hallmark of Images Publishing. Crosbie posits that the very best of sacred architecture goes beyond helping us “keep the faith” to challenging us to define more clearly what faith actually is. You can’t get there simply by repeating traditional forms, he says. The author admits a predilection toward religious projects that “take risks.” He has included, for example, a number of projects that blend spiritual practices with environmentalism, perhaps a new kind of theology or a return to one of the most ancient. Searching
for expression Although the forms range widely, in examining this collection of buildings, Cook has identified three major influences shaping religious architecture today.
Disparate
projects Crosbie has chosen the Riverbend Church, Austin, by Overland Partners, as a representative of the megachurch genre. The sanctuary offers full television and broadcast capabilities on the high-tech end, while a tremendous arched window wall offers high-touch views of a ravine in the landscape beyond the building. The amphitheater-styled sanctuary allows everyone to sit within 90 feet of the altar. “The spectacular natural setting is the genesis for an earthy palette of warm materials, including wood, limestone, sandstone, and painted metal, used throughout the sanctuary,” Crosbie tells us. At the entry, massive limestone monoliths anchor two masonry and glass towers that act as beacons within the landscape.” St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Shelby Township, Mich., by Constantine George Pappas, AIA, offers an example of how structural and materials innovation literally is shaping the appearance of religious buildings. The 16,000-square-foot church is considered to be the largest glue-laminated wood, compression-ring structure in the world. A 2,400-square-foot clerestory soars to a height of 80 feet above the church’s central altar.” The exterior walls of the church are constructed of masonry, designed to provide lateral stability while affording a feeling of grandeur,” Crosbie writes. The glazing is set deep in the wall, allowing broad shadows to reinforce the punched openings in the thick walls, reminiscent of the heavy masonry walls of the earliest Christian churches.” In some ways, Book II delves deeper than its well-received predecessor. Whereas Book I encompassed “the easy ones”—the more obvious choices for representational American religious structures—Book II offers more subtle choices. Taken as a whole, these projects reflect the latest efforts to find structurally eloquent ways to express our spiritual best, a quest as old as humankind itself. Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page |
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