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Car-thedral Megachurch
Houston, Texas, USA | Megachurch and Parking Garage | Fall 2011
Megachurches thrive on attracting new members, and their massive growth is
powered by a three-pronged strategy based on highways, advertisement, and
media. While the typical architectural manifestation of this three-pronged strategy
is banal, In Reach, Out Reach investigates the potential of turning each of these
strategies into three separate formal moves. The three forms (car ramp, secular
program layers, and interior sanctuary) are juxtaposed on top of one another to
create a complex overall form which seeks to integrate the secular and religious.
The center of the project is a 3,500 seat sanctuary, surrounded by secular
program on all sides. A layering of membranes from the exterior through to
the interior sanctuary creates a gradation from a public exterior to a religious
interior sanctuary. The transparency of each layer is adjusted according to
program use, whether working, circulation, or gathering. Thickening and
contracting of the layers of program create a variety of spatial conditions that
adapt to the desired level of transparency for the various secular programs.
Michael Matthews, AIA
Contact: mikedavematt (at) gmail
Resume available upon request |
Michael Matthews Studio
Full Service Licensed Architecture Firm
Registered with American Institute of Architects
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