Is there a Christian Architecture?

Wow. I have a kindred spirit — I never knew.

Architect Daniel Lee is interviewed in this article by Duncan Stroik, associate professor of architecture at Notre Dame. Daniel’s responses sound like conversation I have made with my own friends and acquaintances in the past. The highlights follow:

• The architecture that churches are building today is as confused as the tastes, and faith, of building committee members. Building committees, or other deciding powers, want inexpensive construction that solves basic functional needs. As they select their architect, they are often most concerned with how many churches he has designed, or whether he is well known. It would be nice if he is a believer but they are looking, first, for a safe choice. They feel inadequate to assess philosophical or artistic aspects inherent in their task and simply hope for the best. The results we are seeing are disappointing, and the church is missing important opportunities to create significant new architecture.During two thousand years of Christianity our most important buildings were houses of worship. However, after World War II the church no longer seems able to build churches that are beautiful, commodious, and durable.

• It is important to remember that before the Modern period, works of art were often loaded with meaning as we expressed our understanding of the relationship between transcendent Truth and daily life, and this is the mindset Christians must reclaim.

• We hear concerns in the church over the influence of the mass media today, but very little concern about the impact of the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture. What is the role of church architecture in Christianity?Church architecture serves to frame and enhance our worship, in a way that honors the One we worship.

• So, in constructing churches today, which are often fairly banal or functional at best, what are we saying about the church’s participation in the public square?

• One age-old concern is how we can spend all this money on a church building when there are so many poor and so many who have not yet heard the gospel.Events surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales illustrate my thoughts on this. To express their grief over her passing, the public spent over $40 million on flowers alone. She was a living symbol of important virtues to many people around the world. Could you ever justify on practical grounds alone such an expense? Of course not.

  But, this was a spontaneous expression of affection and sorrow from peoples’ hearts toward one they loved. Should not our expressions of love for our Savior be of a much greater kind?

• To be made in the image of God means to be creative and artistic. Our places of worship should be beautiful works of architecture. It is possible to worship God in a gymnasium or lecture hall, because if people are truly seeking him, God will meet them there. But to worship in such architecture is to suggest that our purpose is either recreational or cerebral. We should build spaces crafted specially for a human-divine encounter with God. Our churches should help us focus our spirits on God in worship. Let our worship be a spiritual love feast, and may our banquet hall be appropriate to a King.

• Worship is the work of acknowledging the awesome greatness of our God. It is not passive. An architect tries to celebrate this greatness through a strategic integration of Christian symbols, works of art, and fine materials. He orders these components using the design elements of axis, symmetry, geometry, space, color, texture, proportion, scale, light, pattern, line, point, and counterpoint. His objective is to convey a sense of the majesty, glory, and presence of God.

“Daniel Lee is an architect in private practice in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, where he also serves as an elder at the Alexandria Presbyterian Church, PCA. The son of Protestant missionaries, he spent his childhood in Paris, France.”

Original article from Regenerator.com.