30-05-2022
Architecture
10 most brutalist churches in the world
Brutalism: a movement of the'50s still present in some church architectures. Here 10 examples of the world's most beautiful of brutalist religious buildings.
For those who do not know, the Brutalism movement spread in the '50s in England, as an architectural attempt to overcome the Modern Movement. The particularity of this movement is the emphasis given to raw lines of the concrete, giving a certain architectural “vigour” to structures. Nowadays, all around the world there are still some examples of Brutalist religious buildings, where they seem like big dolmens. Let’s see some of them.
At the first position there is Our Lady of the Rosary of the Philippines, in Madrid. Its pure concrete exterior makes the church invisible to the eyes of passers-by, who are usually accustomed to brick churches with rich domes. The next one is the Wotruba church, in Austria. For its realisation, the architect was inspired by Chartres Cathedral, but he decided to reinterpret its design in a contemporary way, so much so that the building seems to bring back the Neolithic period. Among these Brutalist religious buildings, we also find the Sanctuary of Arantzazu of the Basque Country and the church of the Holy Spirit in Switzerland. In both cases, visitor knows that he or she is in front of a church thanks to the highly visible presence of huge bell towers with their big crucifixes. No less impressive are the churches of San Giovanni Bono, in Milan, and Neviges Mariendom, in Germany. Two churches with edgy angles, as a result of the combination between aesthetic aspect of the design and the raw material. The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral in the United Kingdom, unlike all the buildings mentioned so far, is a church with a circular base, where the central part stands out and symbolizes Jesus' crown of thorns. The church of St. Anselm Meguro, in Japan, is also a very interesting brutalist example. Its interior is enlighted by the light that comes through cracks between the pillars. There is also the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, a pyramid of the '60s -'70s that, although bare on the outside, has large statues, frescoes, but above all four stained glass windows reaching up to the ceiling, for a total of 60 meters of height. At the top 10 of our Brutalists churches list we also have the church of the Miraculous Virgin Medal in Mexico. This masterpiece made of concrete was built in the '50s and it has 20-metre hyperbolic parabolas inside, which are lightened by stained glass windows.
The review of the 10 most beautiful brutalist churches in the world, which you just read, takes into consideration religious buildings designed and built between the '50s and '70s, a period that combined with a daring development of massive buildings with important shapes and the use of raw materials such as concrete. It was with the Brutalist movement that restrictive aesthetics were transformed into works of art and this can still be seen today in many buildings around the world, including some of the churches we have just mentioned. (Le 10 chiese brutaliste più belle al mondo)
At the first position there is Our Lady of the Rosary of the Philippines, in Madrid. Its pure concrete exterior makes the church invisible to the eyes of passers-by, who are usually accustomed to brick churches with rich domes. The next one is the Wotruba church, in Austria. For its realisation, the architect was inspired by Chartres Cathedral, but he decided to reinterpret its design in a contemporary way, so much so that the building seems to bring back the Neolithic period. Among these Brutalist religious buildings, we also find the Sanctuary of Arantzazu of the Basque Country and the church of the Holy Spirit in Switzerland. In both cases, visitor knows that he or she is in front of a church thanks to the highly visible presence of huge bell towers with their big crucifixes. No less impressive are the churches of San Giovanni Bono, in Milan, and Neviges Mariendom, in Germany. Two churches with edgy angles, as a result of the combination between aesthetic aspect of the design and the raw material. The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral in the United Kingdom, unlike all the buildings mentioned so far, is a church with a circular base, where the central part stands out and symbolizes Jesus' crown of thorns. The church of St. Anselm Meguro, in Japan, is also a very interesting brutalist example. Its interior is enlighted by the light that comes through cracks between the pillars. There is also the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, a pyramid of the '60s -'70s that, although bare on the outside, has large statues, frescoes, but above all four stained glass windows reaching up to the ceiling, for a total of 60 meters of height. At the top 10 of our Brutalists churches list we also have the church of the Miraculous Virgin Medal in Mexico. This masterpiece made of concrete was built in the '50s and it has 20-metre hyperbolic parabolas inside, which are lightened by stained glass windows.
The review of the 10 most beautiful brutalist churches in the world, which you just read, takes into consideration religious buildings designed and built between the '50s and '70s, a period that combined with a daring development of massive buildings with important shapes and the use of raw materials such as concrete. It was with the Brutalist movement that restrictive aesthetics were transformed into works of art and this can still be seen today in many buildings around the world, including some of the churches we have just mentioned. (Le 10 chiese brutaliste più belle al mondo)