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Matt Alderman’s at it again

The king of counter-proposals sets eyes on Divine Mercy shrine

Young architect Matt Alderman presents his counter-proposal to a horrifyingly kitsch proposal for a West-Coast U.S. shrine to the Divine Mercy. Why, given that the recovery of skill & talent in architecture in the past few decades, are most new churches still revoltingly ugly? “The problem is not that it is hard to get beautiful churches built, but that the wrong people seem to end up getting the commissions,” Matt writes. “Oakland and Los Angeles were, of course, going to go modernistic no matter what, but Houston Cathedral could have been a masterpiece if handled by someone with a greater openness to traditional design, rather than settling for a mediocre pseudo-traditionalism.”

Is it the price-tag then? Whenever you see a modern church, you think to yourself This probably cost a quarter while a well-executed design feels priceless. Alderman says price isn’t the issue. “Bad architecture costs just as much as good architecture; even a simple building can be handled well if an architect can know how to strategically place details and use proportion to his advantage. The handsome, brilliantly-handled austerity of late German Gothic comes to mind, as does the simple adobes of the Southwest and the geometric neo-Byzantine of Otto Wagner.”

A few of Matt’s previous proposals include Saskatoon Cathedral, a Viennese St Agnes on 43rd Street, and Our Lady Queen of the English Martyrs in Chicago.

Published at 12:40 pm on Thursday 19 March 2009. Categories: Architecture Church Tags: , , , .
Comments

There must be plenty of excellent designs for Churches which went unbuilt, such as the initial proposal for Liverpool’s Catholic Cathedral. Why not bring those to fruition?

— Liam 20 Mar 2009 3:21 am
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