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Understanding Architecture - Religious Buildings

  • Writer: Abbie Hunter
    Abbie Hunter
  • Sep 9, 2018
  • 5 min read

Updated: Sep 12, 2018



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Photography by Abbie Hunter. Documenting the different religious buildings I wanted to discuss

The understanding of architecture is very important in the field of interior design because it can have a huge effect on how a design will turn out, for example there are certain types of architecture that probably would not fit well with some interior design themes and to create the ideal environment for a client you need to understand this well. I decided to look into various Religious buildings to find out the types of architecture that are used, when beginning this project my initial thoughts were that all religious buildings used the exact same materials and had the same structure. When I started looking at a few of these buildings I was immediately surprised as I noticed that most of the buildings I photographed were all very unique in their own ways, some used different materials or had different features such as statues, stained glass windows or dome-shaped roofs. Being around these buildings and capturing them helped me understand that if I were designing the interior of any of the churches or mosques I would need to take into account every little thing about the exterior before I started thinking about an interior theme.  After I had seen quite a few religious buildings I had to sit down and go through all of the photographs that I had taken to narrow them down and pick out 36 of the best. (Photograph shown below)

Names and information about the Religious buildings featured in the above photographs:

  •  St. David’s Church - This Church is located near Dundee's Law hill, it is known as St David's High Kirk and is run by the church of Scotland. First established in 1877 this building uses a Gothic style of architecture and is constructed of snecked rubble and ashlar bands, some of the main features that give away the type of architecture style are the large rounded windows and religious statues made from the same materials as the rest of the building.

  • Cathedral of Gemona (Duomo) - I came across this Cathedral when in Gemona del Friuli, Italy, it caught my attention because although it is a similar style to other churches that I have seen in Scotland the white limestone looking material that has been used was something I hadn't seen in other religious buildings. The building was designed by architect Giovanni Griglio in the Roman Gothic style, construction first began in 1290 and eventually finished in 1337. In 1976 a large earthquake that effected this small town meant that the Cathedral had to be reconstructed, it was later reopened and is still used today for special events.

  • St Mary's Catholic Church - This Gothic Revival style church was designed and built in 1866 by architect Joseph A. Hansom, it is an asymmetrical building and is built using rubble with ashlar dressing. This church caught my eye due to its unusual design and shape, I was also drawn in by the ashlar statue of the virgin Mary which is looking down on the entrance way to the building.

  • Chalmers Ardler Church - This church was originally situated in the Hawkhill area of Dundee, in the late 1960's early 70's it moved location to Ardler Village. It was completely refurbished in the 1990's to fit in with this newly emerging community. The architecture of this building is a more modern style than some other churches I have seen, that have been designed using the gothic style, this really helps it fit in with all of the new houses being built around it and also helps it stand out when compared to other churches because it is so unique.

  • St. Salvador’s Church - Originally this building was designed for mill workers in the Hilltown area of Dundee during the Victorian era, the idea was to give them a break from their work and a place to go and worship. The architect that designed this church was a Gothic Revival architect named G.F. Bodley, the church was built and finally opened in 1868.

  • St. Peter and St. Paul's Church - This is a Roman Catholic church that was designed by Reginald Fairlie in 1929, Fairlie used an arts and craft style when designing this building which is a change from other churches around Dundee as they usually focus on the style of Gothic Architecture. It was built using Red Brick with a decorated gable, this is another difference to other churches in Dundee because they are usually built using snecked rubble and ashlar.

  • Liff Parish Church - Originally built in 1839 by architect William MacKenzie, the building is of a rectangular plan and lies in the center of a graveyard. It was built using stugged sandstone walls and has droved ashlar dressings and corner stones. In 2015 the church had to close due to the presence of asbestos therefore it is not currently in use. The church is part of the Church of Scotland and also features large stain glass windows on the back of the building.

  • St Mary's Community Church - Being a fairly new building there was very little background that I could find about this building, I did find out that it underwent a £400,000 refurbishment in 2012 which was funded by Dundee City Council to help encourage more people to come and use the building.

  • St. Mary's Parish Church - This church was first established in the 12th century and was set on fire shortly after in 1303, after this large fire the building was eventually rebuilt in the 15th century. When being rebuilt a newer material was used for the walls and the rest of the exterior this material was stone. The architecture style of the building is Gothic and uses similar materials as other Gothic churches in Dundee. In 1462 it was decided that the City Council would be in charge of the church's maintenance, the reconstruction of the building was later completed in the 1480's, the tower is the only 15th century part of the building that is still standing today, this is now known locally as 'The Old Steeple'. Another large fire that broke out in 1841 left the church building very damaged, it was estimated at the time to be around £15,000 to repair, it was later rebuilt and opened again in 1844.

  • Jamia Mosque - This Mosque opened in 1969, it was the first glimpse of the islamic society that Dundee saw, one year after it had opened the mosque moved to a larger building because of how much the society had grown in such a small amount of time. This class one building was the first purpose built mosque in the North-East of Scotland, it was designed and built so that it was facing Mecca to the South-East. It is constructed using stone and has been painted a creamy yellow colour, there is also rounded copper roofing on each corner with minaret and plain glass on top.

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