Civil engineering: Cathedral

Axis Mundi was invited to submit a proposal for a new cathedral for the city of Strasbourg, France. The design is composed of a series of unfolded arches which rest on a submerged “Latin Cross” floor plan. A bas-relief of an abstracted Gothic cathedral will emerge on the eastern facade when the sun rises, and will gradually disappear during the course of the day.

Plaza at night

SITE

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north-eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhine department. Strasbourg's is the ninth largest metropolitan area in France. Strasbourg is fused into the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the largest in France, and the co-existence of Catholic and Protestant culture.

CONCEPT

A series of unfolded (ogival) concrete arches were designed to create majestic volumes of light for the interior spaces. Invisible Cathedral The design of the front façade consists of a bas-relief of a digitized abstraction of a Gothic cathedral. As the sun rises in the east, it will cast shadows on the facade, and the bas-relief will become visible. It will gradually disappear during the course of the day. The floor plan is an abstraction of a Gothic Cathedral, and is composed of a Latin cross (or "cruciform") plan, with a long nave making the body of the church, a transverse arm called the transept and, beyond it, called the choir, chancel or presbytery.

HIDDEN CROSS

A “Latin Cross” plan is submerged, or sunken below the ground plane. The interior below grade is entirely clad in limestone slabs, and has been reduced to the barest minimum of decoration. The pulpit was inspired by the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, and is composed of a cluster of hexagonal shaped columns. A simple bronze cross rises from behind.

DESIGN TEAM

John Beckmann, Masaru Ogasawara and Viviane Liao Renderings and Diagram: Viviane Liao and Masaru Ogasawara

Total sq. ft.: 25,000

Materials: Structurally reinforced concrete, limestone, seamed structural glass, bronze, and oak.

Status: Unbuilt

Location: Strasbourg, France

Interior pleats and folds

Section through folds - model

Submerged cross plan - model

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Posted in: Architecture,Cathedral,design,folded archeticture

Amazing Cathedral Made From 55,000 LEDs Rises at Belgium’s

Festival of Lights

The eye-catching structure will be a stand out out in the town and is the work of Luminarie De Cagna, an Italian family business. During local festive occassions, the company would light up buildings with oil and carbide lamps, but most likely due to the high fire risk, this was soon switched to electric lights. Today, only LEDs are used for set pieces and they are joined together to make massive curtains of light that can be draped over buildings. This allows whole sections of the town to be lit up.

The LED Cathedral was designed with Romanesque and Renaissance architecture in mind and at its zenith, it stands an impressive 28m high. Unsurprisingly, the cathedral has already been drawing large crowds to Belfortstraat like moths to a flame. You also need not worry about the amount of energy being used, as despite being made from 55,000 LEDs, it only consumes 20Kwh of electricity. If you live in the region and are thinking of attending, then you’ll be happy to hear that the light festival’s theme is ‘Happiness’, which is not a coincidence since 2012 is the Maeterlinck Year in Ghent.