‘Like a shell’: new semicircular cathedral dedicated in France
September 23, 2015
A new semicircular cathedral was dedicated in Créteil, France, on September 20, replacing a less distinctive cathedral built in 1966.
The new Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Créteil was designed by Alain Bretagnolle of Architecture Studio, a French firm that designed the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.
In “Like a Shell,” a critique of the cathedral published in L’Osservatore Romano, Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi praised some aspects of the design but questioned the cathedral’s small ambo and the lack of a bell. Portoghesi also asked whether a “shell closed in on itself” adequately manifests “today’s Church, the Church of dialogue, the Church of the poor.”
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Further information:
- Créteil Cathédrale website
- Créteil Cathédrale: Google image search
- Come una conchiglia (L’Osservatore Romano, p. 4)
- Architecture Studio
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Posted by: MAG -
Sep. 23, 2015 10:48 AM ET USA
It's hard to believe this Cathedral can be an improvement. It is yet another protestantized meeting space lacking transcendence and Catholic identity; an ecclesiastical dalliance with architectural fads. Lex orandi, Lex credendi, Lex aedificandi? No wonder the Faith is dying in Europe.
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Posted by: Leferink557202 -
Sep. 23, 2015 9:26 AM ET USA
Looking like a "shell closed in on itself" and what it "manifests" is the least of the issues. This is just flat-out ugly. I thought the French were better than this!
