Architecture for the Gods [Paperback]

Michael Crosbie (Author), Michael J. Crosbie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

A boom in the construction of churches, synagogues, and other places of worship is currently reaching its highest level in three decades. The result has been an exciting diversity of styles, each a response to the needs of a particular congregation. This timely survey explores more than forty such projects, making it a valuable resource for anyone involved in the building or use of religious structures, as well as all lovers of modern architecture. The projects, which represent Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Islamic congregations, are shown with full-color photographs, plans, sections, and diagrams. Also provided are discussions of each congregation's traditions, the building's connection to its religious identity, and how that identity is echoed in the community at large.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If this is architecture for the gods, the gods must be groaning. Not to say that this big, handsome paperback look at more than 40 recent faith-centered architectural projects around the U.S.--complete with full-color photographs, plans, and excellent annotations--doesn't make it amply and diversely clear that there has been a boom in America in recent years in the building of churches, synagogues, mosques, and nondenominational chapels. And certainly not to say that architects aren't finding all sorts of clever ways to update religious iconography for modern times, or combine traditional and contemporary architectural styles under one roof--be it deeply pitched, in the style of the classic country church (like the new St. James Episcopal Church in Fairhope, AL, whose heart-redwood boards, painted bone-white, evoke the region's charming Gulf Coast carpenter-Gothic style), or domed (like Skidmore Owings & Merrill's high-profile Islamic Cultural Center, the first mosque for New York City's sizable Muslim population, skewed on its site to face Mecca, as required by Muslim law, and complete with its own dramatic, postmodern minaret of square, terra-cotta-colored panels).

It's just that many of these sacred edifices aim so hard for contemporaneity or flexibility of use that they look like anything but houses of worship. Here, we have a low-slung, multivolume light brick Presbyterian church in Baltimore that looks like an Eisenhower-era public high school; there, the Metropolitan Community Church in Washington, D.C., whose enormous rainbow flag is the only thing that tips you off that this is the first American church (and not a huge gymnasium or sports arena) to have been built by a gay congregation. Certainly, no one could be serious about worship in the Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral, in Fargo, ND, which resembles a hideous hybrid of a whitewashed grain silo and one of those garish "luxury homes"--complete with a multitude of LEGO-like gables and picture windows--that you see cropping up on (sadly) tree-shorn lots in suburban subdivisions across America. Strip the interiors of most of these projects of the telltale cross, Magen David, or what have you, and the overwhelming effect seems to be that of a spanking new auditorium--all outfitted in blond wood and gray slate--appropriate for a multitude of uses, but special to none.

With their skyward-reaching spires and far-flying buttresses, onion-shaped domes and slender towers--even (in the case of early Protestant America) their handsome, strong-limbed austerity--houses of worship once were stunning expressions of human artistry and effort in the name of the divine. It's no wonder, then, that amidst the (at best) "tasteful" palette of present-day ordinariness that's showcased here the most spiritual of entries seem to be the quirkiest or most outrageous. To wit, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple in Independence, MO, with its psychedelic, illuminated spire that spirals up into the heavens like a Dairy Queen soft-serve cone; a tiny grotto-like chapel that overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Sea Ranch, CA, its rustic, weirdly curved stone flanks and shingled-wood roof rising from the land like Corbu's cathedral at Ronchamps, France (had it been scaled and styled for a Hobbit); and the San Juan Bautista Mission, which was built on a shoestring budget by a group of parishioners, professionals, and residents of the mostly poor Latin American neighborhood in Miami in which it sits like a little jewel from old Havana. Inside, the cherubim that are depicted on a lovely ceiling fresco easily could be all of the many-hued children of 21st-century Miami, so matter-of-factly does the image assume, and attain, contemporaneity. It's one of the few instances in this nonetheless substantive, stylish, and engaging book in which the creativity, expressiveness, and sense of wonderment that the gods gave us in the first place haven't been sacrificed to the blandly mortal demands of modernity. --Timothy Murphy

From Library Journal

Advocates of aesthetic restraint in the service of God will find much to attack in this compendium of 43 highly adorned 20th-century North American houses of worship. Crosbie (architecture, Roger Williams Univ.) exercises able aesthetic and ecumenical judgment in his sensitive presentation of recent neo-baroque religious structures, which range from well-known national edifices to small abbeys. Each project and congregation is briefly introduced, followed by pages of photographs (exterior, interior, and ornamental details), site and floor plans, and elevations. Texts are descriptive and strive to capture how the architecture imparts and reinforces spiritual values and aspirations. Construction and renovation dates are often lacking, and some photos suffer from too much contrast. Nevertheless, this is an effective overview of affluent and awe-inspiring contemporary religious architecture. Most suitable for architecture collections but also for large public libraries.DRussell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082300290X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823002900
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,812,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael J. Crosbie has made significant contributions in the fields of architectural journalism, research, teaching, and practice. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Catholic University and is a registered architect in the State of Connecticut. He has served as an editor at Architecture: The AIA Journal, Progressive Architecture, ArchitectureWeek.com, and is editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, a quarterly journal on religious art and architecture. He is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant. He is the author of more than 20 books on architecture, including five books for children. Dr. Crosbie is Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hartford, and has served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and Catholic University. He has also lectured and served as a visiting critic at architecture schools in North America and abroad, including the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Moscow Architectural Institute. Dr. Crosbie has practiced with Centerbrook Architects and Steven Winter Associates.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest Book on Religious Architecture in the Last 25 Years, June 29, 2002

By 

Paul Harding, FAIA (River Forest, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Architecture for the Gods (Hardcover)

Over the span of my professional career, I have focused on religious architecture. Having done extensive research on the topic over the course of my career, this book stands out as the finest compilation on this building type. The projects and religious organizations are diverse. What they all have in common is the quality of design and the search for appropriateness in architecture for worship.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and diverse, July 26, 2000

By 

Jeremy Fretts "www.humanedesign.com" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Architecture for the Gods (Hardcover)

A beautiful volume exploring a very diverse collection of religious facilities - small and large, urban and rural, contemporary and traditional. A great primer on design possibilities for Judeo-Christian religious facilities.

The only variant it may be lacking in is ultra-contemporary mega-churches. . . but then, few of those are really pretty to look at.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars God in Space and Space for God, February 16, 2001

By 

elliott evans (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Architecture for the Gods (Hardcover)

As an admirer of all kinds of architecture, a real estate writer and a somewhat recent protestant convert to the Roman Church, I found this book intelligent and appealing at many levels. I have a deep love for orthodoxy and traditional architecture which I have learned in the Catholic Church, but I have also been graced with looking beyond trans-historical spaces to find God and communion in the ACTIONS of the liturgy, the GATHERING of a community, the silence found in open SPACES, modern or not. Andy Warhol may have said it best once that "the best thing to have anywhere is space," and to fill it with art or icons seemed sad---paraphrasing. I now understand what he meant. Gothic Cathedrals served a purpose for educationa and catechism with many pieces parts and light and art. But those days are gone in a fast modern world where we seek the simple. In this book the venerable Crosbie shows sensitivity and respect for each faith and each style. The photographs are stunning, the plans and cut sections are clear and easy to read and decipher; the art direction and clear crisp layouts let the building breath and pray and speak for themselves without heavy academic comments. I may not have liked 100% of the structures, but so little is written about new, working, and smartly done houses for worship this is a Godsend. No pun intended. I highly recommend it to the spiritual enthusiast or student, liturgists, architects, or those who like modern or contemporary structures.