Sacral Spaces

Here's an interesting exhibition of Finnish architecture that I look forward to seeing, right here in Vancouver! (links mine)

Hughes Condon Marler: Architects in collaboration with Emily Carr Institute's Charles H. Scott Gallery presents Sacral Spaces - Modern Finnish Churches, June 10 to July 24, 2005 at Emily Carr Institute's Concourse Gallery, Vancouver, BC.

As the only Canadian presentation of this atmospheric exhibit, visitors can view photographs, videos and scale models of 12 strikingly modern and evocative churches built in Finland after World War II. It was during this time a large number of churches and chapels were built across Finland, and their construction brought together many of the country's prominent architects, artists and interior designers to create extraordinary spaces in the new Finnish Modern style. Ethereal light, clean lines and sparse spaces unite these uniquely Finnish designs, Alvar Aalto's The Church of the Three Crosses among them.

Built as the result of architectural competitions, these sleek monuments to modernism - with feelings of nature and sparseness of ornamentation --reinterpreted the way churches could look. Highlights such as Alvar Aalto's Church of the Three Crosses, completed in 1958, and Kristian Gullichsen's Kauniainen Church, 1983, prove that the faithful can be transported by beautiful modern architecture.

Sacral Space is an international exhibition with stops in Tokyo, New York, Washington D.C., and Mexico City. The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Finnish Architecture in collaboration with Tokyo Design Centre and the Church Resources Agency in Finland.

Via Architectural Review. Please view this Postcard [PDF] for exhibition times and schedules of talks.

There are short reviews and a few photos in ArchitectureWeek and the website of the Embassy of Finland in Washington.