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• 1 2021-04-15T15:19:42-07:00 San Josemaría Escrivá Church 16 plain 2021-04-29T01:19:08-07:00

  When he resurrected, Jesus Christ defeated the darkness of death and illuminated man's path to salvation (2 Timothy 1:10).

  The San Jose María Escrivá Church is dedicated to the founder of Opus Dei, saint Josemaría Escrivá (1). Akin to Escrivá who professes sanctity in the ordinary, the church pushes the boundaries of traditional form in its exterior and ultimately relies on the natural sunlight to consecrate the minimal interior. The building is defined by two warped zinc walls that rise up forming two ellipses, representing a fish (ichthus), a subversive node to a long-established Christian symbol (2). The façade of zinc panels are patterned in a scale-like manner further amplifying the building’s dynamism and movement. When facing the church from North or South, the parallel walls' curvature become more pronounced and the visible slit formed in between allows a direct visualization of the light wooden interior. Set within the slits are horizontal and parallel wooden beams which represent the seven golden rectangles of geometric design (3). The converging bends of the panels beckons visitors to look upwards and notice the open skylight divided by beams which lets natural light enter the interior and draws attention to the inner space (4). The shafts of sunlight that spill from above to the floor below seem like ladders to the heavens. On the inside, the walls are clad with strips of wood that adapt to the curved walls adding to the movement and underscoring lightness when daylight bathes the inside. Throughout the day, light manipulates the atmosphere of the vessel creating a constant feeling of movement and defines the axis composition (5). Towards the south direction, the walls were designed to converge in such a way to deliver ample light at the north end of the nave to accentuate the altar where a large cross bares the body of Christ. The East-facing doors on the lateral open to an atrium which terminates at a mirror of water to symbolize Baptism. In the west, confessionals populate. This building follows the typical longitudinal typology of Christian churches which highlights the direction and the path towards the central focus in the space, the altar. At the altar, Eucharist takes place and believers participate in the divine life. Thus, the San Jose María Escrivá Church’s built space is clearly one of passage (6). To move towards the altar, the path leads believers into the light of Christ. 

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  1. Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos. “San José María Escrivá Church.” Accessed April 22, 2021. https://www.sordomadaleno.com/sma/projects-sm/san-josemaria-escriva-church.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Kreuz, Eva-Maria. “Light in Sacred Buildings.” In Sacred Buildings, 60–68. DE GRUYTER, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8276-6_5.
  5. Crosbie, Michael J. “Trends in Contemporary Sacred Architecture.” In Theology in Built Environments: Exploring Religion, Architecture, and Design, edited by Sigurd Bergmann. Routledge, 2017. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351472395.
  6. Garcia-Morales, Soledad. “Building the Religious Space.” In Between Concept and Identity, edited by Esteban Fernández-Cobián, 379. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2014. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/socal/detail.action?docID=1810278.