Saskatoon Cathedral
Matthew Alderman’s hypothetical counter-proposal
Matthew Alderman has designed a hypothetical counter-proposal for the new Catholic cathedral in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan which is infinitely more beautiful than the ugly modernist thingamajig that the diocese is actually building. Matt elaborates upon the problematic nature of the modernist design here and here.
The west façade.
An east-west cut-through of the interior.
The plan, above & below.
The south façade.
The east façade, with diocesan chancellery.
Previously: Vienna on 43rd Street | Hypothetical Chicago Church
This post was published on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 8:47 am. It has been categorised under
Architecture Church and been tagged under
Architecture,
Canada,
Catholicism,
Matt Alderman,
Tradition,
Unbuilt. Click
here to view comments or respond.
1:08 pm
The Sun would do wonders with those large windows – especially after they begin to fill with stained glass.
11:08 am
Wonderful idea, but finding the craftsmen to execute the design would be difficult. I agree that the rendering favored by the church authorities is dated and does not evoke the divine.
12:07 pm
Actually, finding the craftsmen would not be that difficult. Funding them though, would be.
There seems to be a myth that there are no more craftsmen of the old school but they still exist albeit on a smaller scale, and this base could easily be expanded should a large project like a great cathedral start.
Remember, the last great cathedral in the European tradition, Washington National Cathedral, was only finished in the 1990′s. St. John the Divine also stopped work (unfinished) after a brief period of activity in the 1980s. (Before then it handnt been worked on since 1941.)
Most of the poor craftsmanship we see today, even in traditionally designed churches, is down to lack of money rather than not being able to find the right people. In the old days when there was a huge demand for such craftsmen, they were cheaper. Now, the demand is very small, so they have to charge more to survive, which in turn does not help spread their skill. A pity, but if there was greater demand for traditional architecture (specifically among developers, apartment renters, office renters, etc.), the price would presumably lower accordingly.
2:37 am
Reminds me of the Lutyens design of Liverpool Cathedral