There is a subset in architecture of building’s meant to look like scaled up objects from everyday life. There is the picnic basket building in Newark, Ohio, the Binoculars Building in Los Angeles, and the High-Heel Wedding Church in Taiwan. A new RBB Architects-designed building may soon join this novel group. Dubbed The Cathedral, the building is inspired by the mitre, a Bishop’s traditional headpiece.
The building is clad in a double wall with the exterior skin made of parametrically modeled perforated stainless steel. The pattern is inspired by a mantilla, the lace cloth worn by women to cover their head. The inner wall, meanwhile, is multi-colored glass, which results in an ever evolving interior environment as the sun moves. The double-wall is supported by seven steel arches, which hold more symbolism as they reference the Seven Sacraments of the Church.
See Also: Morphosis designs lululemon’s new global headquarters
The goal of the building is to create an iconic structure that not only serves as a place of worship, but also as an architectural destination.
As the sun moves throughout the day, the interior of the church changes.
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Divine intervention
Designed by H. H. Richardson in the 1870s to serve the city's burgeoning Back Bay neighborhood, Trinity Church in the City of Boston would come to represent the essence of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with its clay tile roof, abundant use of polychromy, rough-faced stone, heavy arches, and massive size.
