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Brutalist Churches
- mayormcmatt 3y agoOur family used to attend Newman Hall Church in Berkeley, California back in the '90s -- a very brutalist building of a church. Although religion never took for me, I had fond memories of the after-church donut feasts in the community space. I don't know if the intention of the architecture was to get me to focus on the mass, but young me just spent the entire time taking in the strange geometries of the place. https://maps.app.goo.gl/3TtT716k3bUkdAVh6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/3TtT716k3bUkdAVh6
- jonah 3y agoI was just going to mention that one! https://duckduckgo.com/?q=newman+hall+holy+spirit+parish+berkeley https://duckduckgo.com/?q=newman+hall+holy+spirit+parish+ber... I've been there once and personally, quite like that aesthetic. But the thing that sticks with me was the priest proclaimed the Gospel passage from the bible word-for-word from memory rather than reading it.
- gnabgib 3y agoSome discussion 2 months ago [0](34 points, 15 comments) {Different source, same photos} [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39670217 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39670217
- nabla9 3y agoIt seems like most new churches in Finland are brutalist concrete slabs at least from outside. They are called "defense bunkers against devil" Some pictures: https://twitter.com/sorjonen_fi/status/916606080154767361 https://twitter.com/sorjonen_fi/status/916606080154767361 https://twitter.com/ArtoNatkynmaki/status/1683868257642590209 https://twitter.com/ArtoNatkynmaki/status/168386825764259020... https://fi.wiktionary.org/wiki/piruntorjuntabunkkeri#/media/Tiedosto:Huutoniemi_church_Vaasa_Finland.jpg https://fi.wiktionary.org/wiki/piruntorjuntabunkkeri#/media/...
- polemic 3y agoNot just the new ones - it's a very scandinavian lutheran trend. Tapiloa Church for e.g. https://www.google.com/maps/@60.1783778,24.8091179,3a,75y,152.07h,90.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOWPePKQs9MjG2v2-h_MQiw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DOWPePKQs9MjG2v2-h_MQiw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D188.17497%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu https://www.google.com/maps/@60.1783778,24.8091179,3a,75y,15... However there's also the church in the rock which is absolutely stunning and worth a visit. https://www.temppeliaukionkirkko.fi/en/index/nimi.html# https://www.temppeliaukionkirkko.fi/en/index/nimi.html#
- theoldlove 3y agoWow that google street view image is unspeakably grim. Looks better flipping through photos on google maps. Looks like the other side has some big windows.
- dannyphantom 3y agoNear(ish) where I grew up there is a Lutheran church also has that domed flying saucery look about it. https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7109737,-87.849723,3a,75y,357.34h,77.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZ8EnkXp2qIpCEZQftOha3w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7109737,-87.849723,3a,75y,35... Their domain is pretty funny too: https://www.spaceshipchurch.org/ https://www.spaceshipchurch.org/ :')
- jonah 3y agoIn Los Angeles, CA, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is pretty brutalist: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Cathedral+of+Our+Lady+of+the+Angels+%7C+Los+Angeles%2C+CA https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Cathedral+of+Our+Lady+of+the+Angel... https://www.olacathedral.org/overview https://www.olacathedral.org/overview A favorite part of mine are the tapestries: https://www.olacathedral.org/tapestries https://www.olacathedral.org/tapestries
- temp0826 3y agoShouldn't churches evoke feelings of divinity instead of oppression? (I know it's popular to hate on brutalist architecture, but really isn't a place of worship the last place you'd want it?)
- thetruckgoes 3y agoHaven't the churches been [historically] oppressive?
- temp0826 3y agoI get that it's popular to hate on religion too ;), so I suppose that's ironic to some.
- randohostage 3y agois it though like really? >6 billion people in the world actively identify with one religion or another but in terms of ratio there are more memes on social media about athesim than religions at least on my AI curated feed
- thrance 3y agoThere is plenty of hate speech towards non-believers if you look a little bit for it. In fact, I'd even say that as unfunny and overseen atheists memes are, they are the most tame of all religious critic online.
- joemazerino 3y agoDepends on your scale. On one hand, all institutions are oppressive at some level. On the other, Christianity is the foundation of the free society you (most likely) live in.
- mulmen 3y agoI wouldn’t give so much credit to Christianity, or any religion. The modern west is built on enlightenment ideas, not least of which is the separation of church and state.
- nikolay 3y agoThese remind me of styling in Raise by Wolves [0] of the Mithraic [1]. By the way, it's a great sci-fi show and I was very saddened when I heard HBO Max canceled it (during its transition to Max). I unsubscribed from them and I'm boycotting them due to this hostility. [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9170108/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9170108/ [1]: https://raised-by-wolves.fandom.com/wiki/Mithraic https://raised-by-wolves.fandom.com/wiki/Mithraic
- egypturnash 3y agoThese all look like churches that I would encounter with blood everywhere in the middle of a first-person shooter. They also look like total acoustical nightmares. All that echo-ey concrete, yikes.
- bombcar 3y agoSometimes the concrete is exceptionally well designed and you can fill the church with a single singer. Others are so badly designed you need literally millions in audio equipment to have a simple choir.
- deadbabe 3y agoQuake??
- egypturnash 3y agoMostly I was reminded of the upside-down church zone of System Shock 2. That's one of the few FPSs I bothered playing.
- swores 3y agoBrutalist architecture can be done with good acoustics in mind, it just takes the same sort of planning & design that a non-brutalist building also needs. The Barbican Centre in the UK is a very famous example of a music (and arts) venue with brutalist architecture, and while its acoustics are considered good but not amazing (or "serviceable", to use the description of conductor Sir Simon Raffle), it could have been much better but its problems weren't caused by being brutalist. This person's blog is worth a quick read (ctrl+F for the section about the Barbican): http://trevorcox.me/what-is-wrong-with-londons-concert-halls http://trevorcox.me/what-is-wrong-with-londons-concert-halls And I really love the Barbican, including how it looks from outside and including how it feels to sing on its biggest stage. An exterior photo: https://www.ansador.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barbican-Centre-scaled.jpg https://www.ansador.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barbica... And interior example: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/1f/52/931f52e58c9b1a2f9330d050a7707a49.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/1f/52/931f52e58c9b1a2f9330d050a...
- thom 3y agoNot as attractive as those in the article, but still quite striking near me: https://modernmooch.com/2018/08/19/trinity-united-reform-church-sheffield/ https://modernmooch.com/2018/08/19/trinity-united-reform-chu... Somewhat terrifying when they light up the front in red at night.
- philwelch 3y agoHorrifying and monstrous.
- WalterBright 3y agoI'd hate to be in one in an earthquake.
- jszymborski 3y agoMontreal has some great brutalist buildings, and there are few brutalist churches in the east-end of the island. I grew up with many buildings of this style and I must say I've grown fond of them. I know they are seen as cold, but they bring me warmth.
- Andrex 3y agoI want to read this article but the website has other ideas. Horrible UX and horrible ads (redundant, I know).
- fredguth 3y agoI would add Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro.
- analog31 3y agoHere's one in Madison WI, that was taken down and rebuilt in a more traditional style a few years ago. https://isthmus.com/arts/goodbye-st-pauls/ https://isthmus.com/arts/goodbye-st-pauls/
- sebtron 3y agoThe first church in the article (second after the banner picture), "Santa Maria Immacolata"[0] has an important historical meaning. It is located in the village of Longarone, which was completely wiped out in 1963 due to the disaster of the Vajont dam[1]. Tl;dr the dam should not have been built there because of the geology of the area, but they did anyway; an enormous piece of the mountain fell into the lake, causing a huge wave. Nearly 2000 people died. The church was built as part of the rebuilding of the whole village. [0] (Italian) https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_Santa_Maria_Immacolata_(Longarone) https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_Santa_Maria_Immacola... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajont_Dam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajont_Dam
- lIl-IIIl 3y agoReminds me of this Buddhist monastery: https://architectureprize.com/winners/winner.php?id=6300 https://architectureprize.com/winners/winner.php?id=6300
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y agoIf you're ever in Reykjavík, check out the Hallgrímskirkja. Completed in 1986, located visibly, on a hill. From outside it's very impressive, with the soaring spire shaped (IMHO) like a supersonic aircraft ascending vertically. A stone angel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmskirkja https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmskirkja https://www.re.is/is/blog/guide-to-hallgrimskirkja-church-reykjavik https://www.re.is/is/blog/guide-to-hallgrimskirkja-church-re... https://yourfriendinreykjavik.com/hallgrimskirkja-a-tribute-to-all-that-is-iceland/ https://yourfriendinreykjavik.com/hallgrimskirkja-a-tribute-...
- cviilgan 3y agoAh yes, the church of The Binomial Distribution. Quite a sight. And if you're in Reyjkavík anyways, you should go visit my favourite brutalist church, Áskirkja. Straight out of the Lord of the Rings. https://live.staticflickr.com/5743/22683689714_cff8ae8af1_b.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/5743/22683689714_cff8ae8af1_b.... Also, don't miss out on the botanical garden and its café, it's right around the corner!
- phito 3y agoBrutalism always makes me feel anxious and unsafe for some reason.
- keepamovin 3y agoInteresting reaction. What's your thoughts on why when you delve into it? Could be too personal to share no worries! Ha :) But I'm guessing because the lack of decoration, could be linked with lack of friendly consideration to the people about. And the blocky forms could seem imposing and gigantic versus human scale. Combined it could give the impression of something authoritarian, like a penitentiary or Orwellian government ministry building. You might be feeling uneasy about its obvious display of power. All this makes me think: maybe they should remake the Pentagon in brutalist design. To, just, like...be really unobvious about it. Hahaha! :)
- odiroot 3y agoI have cycled to work past this ugly thing in Berlin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9WQ6PZPg2U8XBzJo6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/9WQ6PZPg2U8XBzJo6 Although it actually fits quite right in the neighbourhood, which was wholly ruined by brutalist architects. Some parts were built over beautiful Gründerzeit (industrial revolution more or less) tenement houses, which were demolished for this new "futuristic" district.
- stefanon 3y agohttps://maps.app.goo.gl/e1M3USiv5Uay2t9UA https://maps.app.goo.gl/e1M3USiv5Uay2t9UA
- drycabinet 3y agoNo pipe organ in any of these?
- p0w3n3d 3y agoGoogle up images of Arka Kraków (or duckduckgo up), one of the famous brutalist churches in Poland
- seoirsewalker 3y agoPeople might need interested in this Irish documentary ---- This film essay looks closely at a rupture, the demolition of a church in Dublin through a portrait of the building’s dismantling. While the cultural meaning of the end of this building has been marked by its community through ritual events, this project comes from a new materialist perspective, drawing attention to the life of the fabric of the church. Produced in collaboration with architectural historian Ellen Rowley, and featuring oral interviews recorded in Finglas, the film points to questions of sustainability in architecture such as counting the embodied energy of this church. Tracing how materials were financed, grown and crafted, the project will provide scope for audiences to reflect on the life of the building itself, socially, culturally, and environmentally. https://fiona-hallinan.com/Making-Dust https://fiona-hallinan.com/Making-Dust