The Architecture of Prayer

January 2023

The Center Art Gallery at Calvin University presents The Architecture of Prayer, an international survey of the contemporary church. The exhibition showcases drawings and travel photography of historic church buildings in dialogue with new projects built between 1999 and the present-contributed by aver 40 global architecture firms-including:

Ad Jaye Associates Centerbrook
Coop Himmelb(L)Au
Dellekamp Arquitectos
John Pawson
Mario Botta Architetti
Marlon Black Well Architects
Neri&Hu
Niall Mclaughlin Architects
Olson Kundig
Ply+
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Shigeru Ban Architects

Athletes Occupy Olympic Housing

August 2012

In the run up to the London Olympics, the Athletes’ Village housing block N15, is now occupied with athletes’ preparing for the games. Niall McLaughlin Architects have designed the external skin of the housing block on a ‘chassis’ designed by Glen Howells. The facade samples fragments of the Elgin Marbles, scanned from the British Museum and converted into 3D pre-cast panels depicting galloping horses from the Parthenon Frieze.

Niall McLaughlin commented on the practice’s approach to the unusual commission in Building Design. ‘I was very interested in the principle of the facade being delaminated from the building’s core form. Usually it’s something one tries to swim against to retain a sense of ‘authenticity’, but here we decided to embrace it….I like the idea of setting Ruskin’s conception of the craftsman against the absolute Taylorism of the construction process. Through digital reproduction, these deracinated stones are now doubly lost.’ (Building Design 27.01.2012)