Gallery: Design: Even Modern Churches Are Built to Instill the Fear of God

  • Studio Fuksas Chiesa San Giacomo Foligno
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    At the church in the Sao Paolo Parish Complex, parishioners gather under an imposing concrete box that’s almost as big as the church itself. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
  • Chiesa a Foligno Arch. M. Fuksas
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    The church at the Sao Paolo Parish Complex, designed by Italians Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas for the Umbrian town of Foligno, was completed in 2009. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
  • Chiesa a Foligno Arch. M. Fuksas
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    "The congregation feels closer to otherworldly powers," said Massimiliano, about the design of the church at the Sao Paolo Parish Complex. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
  • Chiesa a Foligno Arch. M. Fuksas
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    chiesa-a-foligno-arch-m-fuksas-3

    Parishioners congregate under this imposing hollow structure, without a single column in sight. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
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    From a distance, the church at the Sao Paolo Parish Complex appears majestic and slightly intimidating. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
  • pldesignarchitecture4f
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    Parishioners gather under a hollow structure that hovers disconcertingly over the floor. Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
  • Studio Fuksas Chiesa San Giacomo Foligno
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    studio-fuksas-chiesa-san-giacomo-foligno-2

    "I tried to give a spiritual sense of life inside the building," said Massimiliano, who co-designed the church at the Sao Paolo Parish Complex." Photo: Cheiesa Di Foligno
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