Mid-Century Modern Holy Architecture
The Roman Catholic Church is a particularly conservative establishment. It can be identified as Catholic architecture by the simple yet grandiose structures of the Romanesque or the ornate styles of Baroque and Rococo. Carved images and ornate designs have slowly been stripped away from its grand façade of sacred history. Modernism has simplified and solemnized holy temples using simpler materials and mid-century modern design. Though they still carry the significance of the baptismal bath, the organ, social gathering, and reverential stage for the ceremony through its design, one can still come for meditation and contemplation regardless of the architectural impression.
Through some anxiety of change, new ideas were only considered when they were on familiar terms with the past, and when they remained meaningful to the religious community. With the support of local priests and bishops, its builders constructed the church to reflect the age of the church. Also, modern architects could use simple materials, new building technologies, and an absence of ornament to meet financial constraints without aesthetic compromise.
While capturing the sanctity of the space, the expression of these buildings still retains the inspiration of holiness through its spaces of grand scale and contemporary design.