A valued reader alerted me to the recent completion of a new religious building, the Chapel of the Risen Christ in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton.
Please ignore the KPLR broadcast antenna in the background. Heavily influenced by the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut by Le Corbusier in 1950, this chapel was constructed by BSI according to designs by Design Alliance.
I’m not impressed by most contemporary architecture nowadays, but I have to admit that I think this new chapel is really wonderful.
Dedicated only in the last month or so, obviously it will be interesting to see the trees and grass grow up and in to get the intended effect of the architects in the coming decades.
The main entrance is reached by going around to the back side of the chapel, having entered the exterior space of the building on the opposite side.
Save for a single large window, the front door, a skylight and a scattering of small windows, there are few openings into the interior.
Interestingly, the bells are from the former Sts. Mary and Joseph in Carondelet. This will not be the last example of this reuse as we head inside the next two days.
The chapel sits on high ground, and the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary can be seen on its own hill off in the distance.
This is probably the most ground-breaking piece of Catholic architecture in the United States to be built since the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in LA was completed in 2002. In the US Catholic Church, there’s been a movement toward very poorly executed revivalists styles for the past twenty-some years, so this is truly exciting and highly notable on many fronts.
I agree.
This is outstanding! Neo-Brutalist, but also contemporary. Thanks for the heads up, I’m going to check it out soon.
As for other groundbreaking 21st century Catholic buildings, I also think the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, CA – dedicated in 2008 – is also worth mentioning. I watched it go up when I lived in the Bay Area in the Aughts and I found it spectacular inside and out.
The exposed, poured-in-place, formworked concrete and circular form remind me of the new sewage treatment plant being built near where I live. And I definitely prefer the sewage treatment plant. Unlike liberal Catholic theology (and its accompanying design ethos), the sewage treatment plant isn’t pretending to be something it isn’t.
So you’re saying you’re not a fan.
Yes, I am. I believe the new sewage treatment plant is a nice piece of infrastructure that will improve the city and surrounding environment. 🙂