Introduction
Modern architecture for the Roman Catholic Church in the twentieth century was often highly experimental; it could be either comforting or shocking; sometimes it appeared within a culture of intense theoretical and theological dialogue between architects and clergy, and sometimes it challenged orthodoxy and innovated at the fringes of the Church's complex structure. At various significant moments, modern architecture was either repressed and quenched, or welcomed and widely adopted. Architects could be concerned with the symbolic potential of modern architecture to evoke newly emphasised ideas in theology. In church architecture throughout the twentieth century, the liturgy was a central focus of development, as space and ritual were intimately connected. Monastic life was subject to modern interpretations of ancient ideals. Conventionally, the Second Vatican Council has been seen as a pivotal moment in the shift towards a modern form of church space, but increasingly scholarship is revealing the Council to have been only one marker of much longer trends. More recently, architects have sought continuity and reattachment to the past instead of innovation.
This international conference presents new research on specific manifestations of these larger historical and architectural currents. Speakers consider such themes as the relationships between church architecture and liturgy; the effects of Church patronage on architectural production; the role of lay communities in the production of church space; theology, phenomenology, and architecture; case studies of modern architects; the situation of church architecture within political and social contexts; and experiences from current architectural practice.
The keynote speaker is Professor Richard Kieckhefer, Professor of Religion and History at Northwestern University, Illinois, and author of one of the most important recent books on church architecture, Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley.
The conference takes place at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre in London on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 December 2011. Please follow the links on the right for more information. A full schedule of papers is expected to be finalised in mid-November.
This international conference presents new research on specific manifestations of these larger historical and architectural currents. Speakers consider such themes as the relationships between church architecture and liturgy; the effects of Church patronage on architectural production; the role of lay communities in the production of church space; theology, phenomenology, and architecture; case studies of modern architects; the situation of church architecture within political and social contexts; and experiences from current architectural practice.
The keynote speaker is Professor Richard Kieckhefer, Professor of Religion and History at Northwestern University, Illinois, and author of one of the most important recent books on church architecture, Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley.
The conference takes place at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre in London on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 December 2011. Please follow the links on the right for more information. A full schedule of papers is expected to be finalised in mid-November.
