[Images: The VitraHaus, a proposed collection showroom by Herzog & de Meuron; bottom photograph by Dezeen].
This project made the rounds several months ago – and commenters the blog world over found it worthy of ridicule – but I’ve been reading St. Peter’s and so I have to wonder what would happen if you stacked cathedrals this way. A church made of bridges, all of which cross one another and lead back into themselves through cantilevered wings and side-chapels. Strategic elevators and light-wells punch voids through adjacent spaces, stretching into halls that lead outward as arches over rooms three floors below. There are vertical courtyards and consecrated spaces that defy gravity through self-buttressing, and even the smallest walls are part of the structure, bearing loads, part of the building’s strength and not mere decoration. What appear to be multiple buildings are really one – and other such obvious allegories. Etc. etc.
As the angry monotheistic “jealous” gods like Yahweh and Allah battle for the penthouse, Satan rages in the basement envying the view from the top, while Coyote fucks pretty girls behind the altar on Level 23, Dorothy Day outrages the super by opening the cafeteria doors to the poor, and Zen students sweep the hallways.
Why dream, when you can use Google SketchUp; you can bring your dreams into reality, now: Stacked Cathedrals – SketchUp Style.
Elsewhere.