It's not very often that a church takes center stage for a design, especially not a minimalist one. John Pawson is in St. Moritz created just that for the church.
In German Augsburg is located Church of St. Moritz, which found itself in the center due to its very special image. At the end of April, visitors were able to see the new look of the church for the first time, which marked the beginning of its completely new architectural era. A British company is behind the work John Pawson Architects, which is known for its completely minimalist design. They also stuck to it in this project, which was a big challenge, especially with, or rather, the fact that it is about sacred object. The renovation of the old church took five years, and the result is completely minimalist church, which pushes the boundaries of church design. It is dominated by whiteness with a touch of dark wood, there is no spirit or hearing about the golden elements, and only the statues of the apostles on the snow-white wall are copper. The floor is from Portuguese limestone, as refined as everything else.
They paid special attention the play of light. While the central space, the nave, is the brightest, the remaining areas are dominated by subdued light. Among other things, this also creates the onyx on the windows. Somewhere they wrote that the sun is already setting outside, in this one to the church it's just rising - the feeling of sunrise is made by a slightly yellowish play of light in some areas. The goal that the architects had in mind was to create a clean, modest white space without distractions so that the visitor can focus on meditation, prayer and reflection. Their goal was to bring light and purity to the church, and they also had in mind respect for previous architects and their visions. Judging by the photos, they did quite well.
