the interfaith forum on religion, art and architecture
For every issue we publish, Faith & Form features one article here on our website. As each new issue is distributed, our home page is updated with the latest featured article. Previously posted articles will remain on the website and will be accessible from this page. Our online article archive goes back to 2006.
Distributed and Situational Sacred Space Those who believe that in Christ God has brought life out of death, hope out of sorrow, and love out of cruelty are now called to see the world, the everyday and ordinary, with new eyes, the eyes of faith—and to live … [continue]
The Marian Murals and American Saints of St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral Cross the Brooklyn Bridge to the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush to SHoP Architects’ Barclays Center and you’ll see a crossroads packed with rush-hour taxis and pedestrians rushing for … [continue]
For thousands of years, sacred space has shaped and provided deep meaning to cities and urban communities as well as to the health, well being, and quality of life for the inhabitants. For the first time in history, a majority of the world’s population is now … [continue]
What is the value of an older church, synagogue, or temple to its neighborhood or town? If that value is significant, can we use it to persuade the larger community to help preserve the building and all the public good it houses? In an era when so many … [continue]
Any discussion of the relationship between the sacred and the city today ought to address the evolving transformation of one of the most influential holy cities in human history—Mecca. Of the world’s major religions and the sacred cities associated with … [continue]
A congregation shares space in an innovative design that makes the most of meager resources. North Presbyterian Church houses a unique congregation in urban Cleveland, Ohio. With dwindling or relocated congregations, urban churches from a variety of … [continue]
Capturing the Quiet Life and Spirit of a Storefront Church Please click the images below to view the photographs in their entirety. On a Sunday in July 2012, I attended a church service in the front room of a small storefront in North Carolina. I was told … [continue]
Chestnut Hill Friends Meetinghouse When the Chestnut Hill Friends of Chestnut Hills, Pennsylvania, first came to us in 2006 with the notion of building a new meetinghouse, we jumped at the chance. After all, most architects would welcome the opportunity to … [continue]
The Ner Tamid as the Second Source of Light in Jewish Sacred Space The imagery surrounding Chanukah, the Jewish feast of rededication and the festival of lights, is quite well known: the miraculous story of a single day’s worth of oil burning for eight … [continue]
The Christian Symbol Between Representation and Expression in Tadao Ando’s Churches One of the most influential architects today, the Japanese autodidact Tadao Ando, creates “complex works of extreme simplicity that are rooted in and yet transcend their … [continue]
