Architecture: Architettura del sacro

Architettura del sacro

The Archdiocese of Milan has begun an initiative to populate the city periphery with spiritual centers that can also serve as community meeting and social spaces

The Archdiocese of Milan along with the Commission for New Churches invited renowned architects to participate in the construction “l’architettura del sacro” (architecture for spiritual structures) in a series of competitions for the final designs. Today, four of these projects are already in the beginning phase of construction.

The structures pose a kind of tension between their internal spaces, meant for reflection and inward contemplation, and their external connection to their urbane settings.

They attempt to offer what is usually missing in the suburb: a sense of community and belonging. Yet their aesthetic is distinctly urban.  Excerpted from the Magazine of Il Corriere della Sera (2/2009). Original text by Francesca Acerboni.