the pearly gates are made of concrete: the beautiful brutalism of förderer's church in hérémence, switzerland

 

The Saint-Nicolas Church by Walter Maria Förderer in Hérémence, Switzerland is peak ecclesiastical concrete. The locale, the scale, the cubism, the detail, and the sheer mass is delightfully daunting and awe inspiring. Built between 1968 and 1971, this ceremony of cement replaced an older church damaged by the 1946 earthquake. This replacement is so solid it could withstand both an earthquake and judgment day.

Built into the hillside, the sanctuary becomes part of the mountain itself. And, in a way, it is, having been built with locally sourced concrete and wood, the latter adding hearthy warmth to the interior and providing the board-forms on the interior and interior. The light grey of the concrete evokes the snow, in the distance when we visited but one with the church in the winter.

The complex of concrete dominates this town of 1,500, but in a serene way. As it so happens, there are 1,500 seats in the church. Gloriously, the church was open for viewing and walking nearly every spot. Perhaps the gates aren't pearly after all; maybe they are made of concrete.

the brutalist Saint Klemenz Church in Bettlack, Switzerland

The primary reason for venturing to Switzerland was to gape and gawk at these hyper-cubic Brutalist churches. They are sights and sites to beyond! Massive, concrete, and crenulated out the wazoo, the attention to detail in every odd corner of the spaces is remarkable. We also find great pleasure is the fusion of the ultra-modern with the dusty echoes of biblical imagery. There's something of a Dune vibe in these spaces as well (thinking of the spectacular future-Brutes of the recent movies).

This was the first one we visited, and it was amazing. Everywhere you looked was fascinating composition and details. Designed by Walter Maria Förderer (1928-2006) and built between 1964 and 1969. As we venture through the mountains, we'll see several other of Förderer's designs. Förderer was Swiss, so he was a local architectural hero. He's considered a post-functionalist, which were the beginnings of deconstructivism but not out of hand like Post-Modern. He earned that moniker because not everything you see is purely functional. On the other hand, this is a church, which has expectations of ornamentation, creating the opportunity for Förderer to have some (actually, a great deal of!) fun. Not surprisingly, he eventually gave up architecture in 1978 to become a sculptor.

All the churches we visited were open except one, even if there was nobody there. For the most part, we had the churches to ourselves except for the occasional Brute-head. 

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