St. Mary's
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
San Francisco, California
Pietro Belluschi, Angus McSweeney, Paul A. Ryan, John Michael Lee, Pier Luigi Nervi, architects and engineers, 1971
There is a long and interesting story about the development of this project which I can recommend, found in the book on the religious architecture of Belluschi titled, 'Spiritual Space' by Meredith L. Clausen (1992). One also learns about the influence of his MIT colleague Eduardo Catalano, who, at the time, was doing a lot of research about structures with 'warped surfaces'.
It really would have been great if the glazing at the corners would have been done to allow the massive supporting feet of the roof to have been more visible (here, one barely sees a hint of the foot, but only if one really looks). On the other hand, it then might have been too bright inside.
One of the many nicknames this structure has is the 'washing machine', which only makes sense if you are aware of the 'agitators' in top-loading models common in the US.
St. Mary's
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
San Francisco, California
Pietro Belluschi, Angus McSweeney, Paul A. Ryan, John Michael Lee, Pier Luigi Nervi, architects and engineers, 1971
There is a long and interesting story about the development of this project which I can recommend, found in the book on the religious architecture of Belluschi titled, 'Spiritual Space' by Meredith L. Clausen (1992). One also learns about the influence of his MIT colleague Eduardo Catalano, who, at the time, was doing a lot of research about structures with 'warped surfaces'.
It really would have been great if the glazing at the corners would have been done to allow the massive supporting feet of the roof to have been more visible (here, one barely sees a hint of the foot, but only if one really looks). On the other hand, it then might have been too bright inside.
One of the many nicknames this structure has is the 'washing machine', which only makes sense if you are aware of the 'agitators' in top-loading models common in the US.