Church Builders Of The Twentieth Century

This book looks at Christian church architecture and related decorative work from the late 19th century to the present, including period revivals, the "Arts and Crafts" interlude, the schools of Scandinavia, Germany, and West Coast America, and the Modern Movement. Extensively illustrated mainly in color.

This book looks at Christian church architecture and related decorative work from the late 19th century to the present, including period revivals, the "Arts and Crafts" interlude, the schools of Scandinavia, Germany, and West Coast America, and the Modern Movement. Extensively illustrated mainly in color.

Torgerson begins by discussing God's transcendence and immanence and showing how church architecture has traditionally interpreted these key concepts. He then traces the theological roots of immanence's priority from liberal theology and liturgical innovation to modern architecture. Next, Torgerson illustrates this new architecture of immanence through particular practitioners, focusing especially on the work of theologically savvy architect Edward Anders Sövik. Finally, he addresses the future of church architecture as congregations are buffeted by the twin forces of liturgical change and postmodernism.

Presents forty examples of twentieth-century Catholic and Protestant architecture, including monasteries and seminaries as well as church buildings. From Perret's Church of Notre Dame, Le Raincy, France, to Niemeyer's plans for the Cathedral of Brasilia. Several of the buildings are in the United States.

Mid-20th century sacred architecture in America sought to bridge modernism with religion by abstracting cultural and faith traditions and pushing the envelope in the design of houses of worship. Modern architects embraced the challenges of creating sacred spaces that incorporated liturgical changes, evolving congregations, modern architecture, and innovations in building technology. The book describes the unique context and design aspects of the departure from historicism, and the renewal of heritage and traditions with ground-breaking structural features, deliberate optical effects and modern aesthetics. The contributions, from a pre-eminent group of scholars and practitioners from the US, Australia, and Europe are based on original archival research, historical documents, and field visits to the buildings discussed. Investigating how the authority of the divine was communicated through new forms of architectural design, these examinations map the materiality of liturgical change and communal worship during the mid-20th century.

This book examines the complex relationship between religion and business in twentieth-century America. It is the story of how Christianity’s most basic institution, the local church, wrestled with the challenges and compromises of competing in the modern marketplace through adopting the advertising, public relations, and marketing methods of business. It follows these sacred promoters, and their critics, as they navigated between divinely inspired and consumer demanded. Amid an animated and contentious battleground for principles, practices and parishioners, John C. Hardin explores the landscape of selling religion in America and its evolution over the twentieth century.