A very similar church right here in the DMV is the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. A mid-20th-century Gothic + Art Deco masterpiece and perhaps my favorite cathedral of all time (the interior especially). Happy to show you around the area if you're ever in MD!
Absolutely adore the architecture of the early-to-mid-20th century. Your writing reminds me a lot of the Amsterdam School, German Brick Expressionism (think Hoechst AG Technical Administration Building in Frankfurt), as well as the work of architects like Paul Philippe Cret and Jan Kotera. Something about these early modernists married the avant-garde of new materials and building technologies with the grounded, human qualities of their Beaux-arts educations in such a rich and fresh way that neither their romanticist predecessors nor modernist contemporaries seem to do. Nowadays, there seems to be a renewed interest in the "human-scale," "traditional architecture," and "anti-modernism." I think much of this is warranted, but I hope the best this movement can provide isn't just some derivative form of historicism. Let us not forget that there is a third way!
I had never seen this austerely handsome church before. You are exactly right how the individual bricks give the total shape a pleasing detail absent from most international modernist structures.
I was in Copenhagen last year I found a very nice sensible integration of modern architecture in the city. It seemed each modern building tied into the space and flow of the city, it was part of the city instead of a brutalist bruise on it. It also has a wonderful modern acoustically wonderous opera house, with the finest cinnamon role I ever had in my life. I also loved the neoclassical Museums such as the Glyptotek (in the farthest corner of the third floor tucked away is Manet Absinth Drinker a masterpiece of focus and humanity at the brink) , and the SMK had an amazing collection.
A very similar church right here in the DMV is the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. A mid-20th-century Gothic + Art Deco masterpiece and perhaps my favorite cathedral of all time (the interior especially). Happy to show you around the area if you're ever in MD!
Absolutely adore the architecture of the early-to-mid-20th century. Your writing reminds me a lot of the Amsterdam School, German Brick Expressionism (think Hoechst AG Technical Administration Building in Frankfurt), as well as the work of architects like Paul Philippe Cret and Jan Kotera. Something about these early modernists married the avant-garde of new materials and building technologies with the grounded, human qualities of their Beaux-arts educations in such a rich and fresh way that neither their romanticist predecessors nor modernist contemporaries seem to do. Nowadays, there seems to be a renewed interest in the "human-scale," "traditional architecture," and "anti-modernism." I think much of this is warranted, but I hope the best this movement can provide isn't just some derivative form of historicism. Let us not forget that there is a third way!
I had never seen this austerely handsome church before. You are exactly right how the individual bricks give the total shape a pleasing detail absent from most international modernist structures.
Beautiful! What does the interior look like?
I was in Copenhagen last year I found a very nice sensible integration of modern architecture in the city. It seemed each modern building tied into the space and flow of the city, it was part of the city instead of a brutalist bruise on it. It also has a wonderful modern acoustically wonderous opera house, with the finest cinnamon role I ever had in my life. I also loved the neoclassical Museums such as the Glyptotek (in the farthest corner of the third floor tucked away is Manet Absinth Drinker a masterpiece of focus and humanity at the brink) , and the SMK had an amazing collection.
Such a delightful Renaissance man you are, Henry. I can’t think there are many around.