Best Religious Buildings Architecture

On August 19, 1418, a competition concerning Florence's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore--already under construction for more than a century--was announced: "Whoever desires to make any model or design for the vaulting of the main Dome....shall do so before the end of the month of September." He engineered the perfect placement of brick and stone, built ingenious hoists and cranes to carry an estimated 70 million pounds hundreds of feet into the air, and designed the workers' platforms and routines so carefully that only one man died during the decades of construction--all the while defying those who said the dome would surely collapse and his own personal obstacles that at times threatened to overwhelm him. Its span of more than 140 feet exceeds St Paul's in London and St Peter's in Rome, and even outdoes the Capitol in Washington, D.C., making it the largest dome ever constructed using bricks and mortar. He tells a compelling, informed story, ranging from discussions of the construction of the bricks, mortar, and marble that made up the dome, to its subsequent use as a scientific instrument by the Florentine astronomer Paolo Toscanelli. Walker was the hardcover publisher of Dava Sobel's sleeper smash, Longitude, and Mark Kurlansky's steady-seller Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. British novelist King (previously unpublished in the U.S.) compiles an elementary introduction to the story of how and why Renaissance Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) designed and oversaw the construction of the enormous dome of Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore cathedralAdesigning its curves so that they needed no supporting framework during construction: a major Renaissance architectural innovation.

Vincent Scully, one of America's most brilliant and articulate scholars, understands the temples as physical embodiment of the gods in landscapes that had for the Greeks divine attributes and sacred connotations. The National Endowment for the Humanities chose Scully to deliver its prestigious Jefferson Lecture, and the National Building Museum has established the Vincent Scully Prize in Scully's honor.

From the bestselling authors of The Mass , an insightful and practical guide that explores the architectural and spiritual components of the Catholic Church. A couple years ago, my co-author, Mike Aquilina, and I wrote a book titled The Mass , and it guided readers through the Catholic Church's principal act of worship, explaining the meaning of all the parts and prayers, vessels and vestments. You'll notice furnishings you won't find in other buildings, and they have unusual names: the ambry, the ambo, the tabernacle. While we are respectful of the divine mysteries, we do try to de-mystify the terminology and give clear simple explanations for the things people encounter in a Catholic church. We examine all the parts of a church that way, from the front door to the bell tower, from the choir loft to the holy-water font. The architecture styles of churches reflect the history, cultural background, ethnic traditions and artistic creativity of people all over the world. But they do have common elements, and there are deep doctrinal and theological reasons for the identical nature of the basics of every Catholic church. Our book focuses on what churches have in common, but we address the differences as well, because part of the beauty of the Catholic faith is its rich diversity. The Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington presents a magnificent array of marble and mosaic. A young college student said to me just some months ago, “I come here not only to pray but to be enveloped in beauty that I don’t find anywhere else.”. They're signs of God's abundant love and mercy: the confessional booth, the oils of anointing, the tabernacle of Jesus' abiding presence. In our book we trace the developments that got us from there to here: the tabernacle and temple of ancient Israel, the house churches of early Christianity, the haunting cathedrals of the middle ages. Readers of our book will meet some fascinating characters, like the fourth-century historian Eusebius of Caesarea and the medieval bishop William Durand. The architect who designed Big Ben, London's clock tower, was a convert to the Catholic faith who studied and wrote about the meaning of all the elements of a church. I hope it finds a prominent place in RCIA presentations, in religious education programs, on family bookshelves." This book trains our eyes to see the domes and spires, tabernacles and votive candles, pews and altars as they really are . This lovely little book by Cardinal Wuerl and Mike Aquilina is truly a mine of information, devotion, and inspiration for all." "This new book by my esteemed father in the faith, Archbishop Donald Cardinal Wuerl, and my friend, Mike Aquilina, is a wonderful treatment of the Great Amen of the Fathers of the Church and the assent of the Gathered Community of Faith within our houses of worship. Far from being a cold treatment about church architecture, this gem is a crescendo of love as a sacred song of faith rising up to the Father in the Spirit through Christ." Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina, gleaning from their combined perspectives of behind the altar and from within the pews, offer the reader an extraordinarily unique panoramic view of the Catholic Church.

Focusing on green building as it applies to larger commercial, institutional buildings, Sustainable Construction provides a complete introduction to the design and construction of high-performance green buildings. "Kilbert set out to provide a book for professors to use within their environmental departments; however, what he ends up with is a wonderful overview of the green building movement…" ( AIA , March 2007) The definitive guide to the green building process. Focusing on green building as it applies to larger commercial, institutional buildings, Sustainable Construction provides a complete introduction to the design and construction of high-performance green buildings.