Elfin's Tuesday Architectural Appreciation thread!! This week- Religion.

Tell you what Fred. Put this one in your diary. The best time to ride up at Rivi is late summer. The sunsets you get from the pike let you see everything silhouetted at this time of year. You look across the Cheshire plain and all you see on a clear evening, as its so flat, is the Cathedral. I like that.

Get your sorry southern arse up here, look at the view of it from there, then go and check it out the following day. I’ll venture into enemy territory and give you the tour of your adoptive city. Much that it grieves me to do so. And they say united fans are all from darn sarf. Tsk 🙄

Binners, it shall be so. Sounds reet good that.

Does WCA have your email? Can I contact you via him?

I would love to see both the Anglican Cathedral you posted pics of, and this creation:

Somewhere, I have an MP3 of YNWA sung by the choir of one of the Cathedrals, not sure which one, but it’s brilliant.

Paddy’s wig-wam looks far more impressive from the inside fella. Get your sorry cokerney/scouse self up here. I;ll bung my email in my profile now. Give us a shout.

A day in ‘the pool’ is in order. not been over there in a while. Do the cathedral then the Tate. They have the best collection of abstract expressionism, in fact Pop Art as well. Lots of Rothko, Barnett Newman, Blake, Jackson Pollock. bit o culcha never goes amiss.

We’ll have a ceremonial reception of whippets, racing pigeons, black puddings and suchlike for your arrival 😀

Monasterboice, co. Louth, Ireland

Wroclaw, Poland

Skull Chapel, Czermna, Poland

Oh and that photo above was used in an online tourist guide to Barcelona.
http://www.schmap.com/barcelona/toppicks_attractions/#p=72407&i=72407_150.jpg

It’s my photo as well 🙂 They also used one of mine from Park Guell. Funny that the only two photos of mine that have had any interest were quick holiday photos rather than anything “proper” I’ve tried to achieve 😆

St Niicholas’ Church, Slaughterford, where my Great-grandparents are buried. Wrecked by Cromwell’s men on their way to Bristol.
A small detail of the circle yossarian posted an aerial view of:

and the other main feature of the same religious complex:

As always, a great thread. Some wonderful examples as always, and rooting about to find stuff is really fascinating.

Canterbury Cathedral is just truly amazing, and awe-inspiring. Takes my breath away.

Incredible.

the grand mosque in djenne, the largest mud building on earth.

Chartres:

Loving that, Mrmo! 🙂

Rouen:

some proper Good Stuff made in the name of gods or whatevaaa, just goes to show how brilliant humans are at making stuff, given a bit of inspiration! We are cool! Us.

La Mezquita in Cordoba, a church inside an older Mosque,simply a stunning building, not perfect but amazing

Rievaulx abbey

You are right about canterbury elfin, it’s on my ride into work and stands high as you come down into the stour valley.

It’s interesting that this edition of AA has engaged people so much. I’m guessing that the driving factor in the construction of these buildings was faith, something that seems to be fading in the western world these days.

Red Mosque, Lahore.

I was there 10 years ago. Epic.

The view out of it’s front door isn’t too bad either.

Crazy legs, that Prague cathedral looks like it’s about to get up onto 6 huge legs and start stomping all over the city firing laser beams at people running away screaming.

Anyone done this yet?

Coventry Cathedral (well, part of it)

the Italian Chapel, built by Italian prisoners of war on Lamb Holm, Orkney

and guess what?
it’s a nissen hut

also, the temple of Hapshetsut near Luxor

My parents’ local (not my pics)

[/url]
Javea Church (In Port Area)[/url] by Zak Woodman[/url], on Flickr

This is quite special

And I cant believe we’ve nit had this

It’s interesting that this edition of AA has engaged people so much.

Well, all to often, some people on here get all steamed up over religion, and seem to need to attack it all the time. This was all about simply appreciating architecture inspired by and built because of religion. Just to show that maybe religion isn’t all bad, you know. Religion has, as is plainly evident here, at least given Humanity some wonderful buildings and structures. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Regardless of your views, I think this sums it up perfectly really:

some proper Good Stuff made in the name of gods or whatevaaa, just goes to show how brilliant humans are at making stuff, given a bit of inspiration! We are cool! Us.

Thats what this AA series is all about. A celebration of Humanity’s endeavours. Forget the reasons, admire the results.

I was really hoping somone would post a pic of that little chapel in Orkney, nice one BBSB. 🙂

One day I would love to see stuff like this:

A nice bit of interior detail:

Wells Cathedral, Somerset.
Elfin’ll recognise this edifice:

(Is a little bit too emotional. Sobs uncontrollably at the sheer beauty of it all)

can we have a ‘local to you’ A&A next week ?

be interesting to see what people see around them and to find out what some of that stuff means to people.

Religion has, as is plainly evident here, at least given Humanity some wonderful buildings and structures

The only problem with this, is in some parts of Africa where the missionary has persuaded the locals to spend their hard earned on building an ornate (relatively speaking) church for them to visit on a Sunday, when their own houses are in need of significant repair.

Some could argue that the opulence of somewhere like St Peters in Rome is grotesque. I wouldn’t go that far though.

That sounds like a very nice idea actually TM. My very first pic on this thread is of a church just half a mile away. I am a bit spoilt for stuff where I live though! 😀

Yeah, we can do that. Any suggestions for future threads week by week are welcome. The stations one came about because of the Trains thread, and this one was inspired by the big religion thread.

I think we should specify a certain radius, of a couple of miles if you live in a big city, maybe bigger if you live in a quieter place.

Bit of Hawksmoor near me; St Anne’s, Limehouse:

For an atheist I’ve been to a few nice ones

Duomo Amalfi

Mosta Dome, Malta.

During WW2 this fell through the roof, bounced and skidded out the door.

And my favourite. The Pantheon, Rome.

I think we should specify a certain radius, of a couple of miles if you live in a big city, maybe bigger if you live in a quieter place.

Sounds good, I’ll keep my camera with me this week 8)

Oldest surviving church in the uk apparently.

countzero beat me to it

one of the most amazing shapes ever in architecture, and extra amazing in that it was built in in a hurry as the tower above was beginning to collapse into the nave. The simplicity is because they didn’t have time to decorate what is in essence a giant stone acro prop.

Good choice Elf!

Got nothing to add cos my preference is for 13th century churches in hamlets/villages. Love going inside, looking at stained glass windows etc and reading about the history. You do find the odd one that isn’t locked or, indeed, proudly has a Whistler on display. 8)

Personally, I think this has bin the best AA thread so far. Religion has helped create some of the most stunning and awe-inspiring buildings ever. Sure, a skyscraper might be taller, an industrial complex larger, but very little has ever really compared to religious buildings in terms of design, craftsmanship and social significance. They really are very often the pinnacle of architectural design. Indeed, many construction techniques still in use today were pioneered during the creation of religious buildings.

I love the fact that you can go through a sleepy little village, and there will be a nice little church or chapel or something, which as CG says, may have beautiful stained glass windows, or intricate carvings, or some lovely quadripartite vaulting and that.

My aunt is a priest in Cornwall, near Bude, and there’s loads of little churches round there. Like this one, St Gennys, on top of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic.

It’s proper bleak up there in winter. Makes you think about the lives of those who lived there hundreds of years ago, who wooduv seen the church as the centre of their community.

Tipidabo in Barcelona

Giza Pyramids, Egypt

Teotihuacan, Mexico

Kev

I was really hoping somone would post a pic of that little chapel in Orkney, nice one BBSB.

Welcome, here’s the builders

Furthest left hand side back row, is Domenico Chiocchetti the architect of the chapel. looks scarily like Anthony Hopkins

Makes you think about the lives of those who lived there

That’s the facination in architecture for me.

For the most part I can take or leave the great and the superlative, they often have troublesome or dark histories.

Pass this on my way to work.

Set amoungst the Victorian Architechure around it, it stands out as a oddity in a northern city.

Just to show that maybe religion isn’t all bad, you know. Religion has, as is plainly evident here, at least given Humanity some wonderful buildings and structures.

Hear hear Elfin, in fact this image demonstrates your point really well. See all those beautiful building built in the name of religion. Then look at this by someone who destroys such things.

Coventry Cathedral

It just goes to show that people who don’t like religion are like Hitler, and the love him too.