Bible Verses Inform The Design Of Thailand’s Church Of Joy
2024 Best of Year Winner for Building Façade
The interplay of light, shadow, and geometry is driven by sacred meaning in the Church of Joy by Department of Architecture Co., with the architectural details referencing Bible verses. Cascading precast-concrete pleats enveloping the 5,400-square-foot congregation hall in Bangkok, Thailand, recall the “curtain” of Exodus 26:33, symbolizing the separation and the connection between the spiritual and the mortal. A dichroic Covenant Cross refracts sunlight into a spectrum of colors, embodying Genesis 9:16’s “rainbow.” By night, the illuminated cross transforms the structure into a radiant beacon, echoing the “light of the world” in Matthew 5:14-15. At this intersection of divine faith and worldly design is a place for worship that’s no less beautiful to more secular passersby.
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PROJECT TEAM: AMATA LUPHAIBOON; TWITEE VAJRABHAYA TEPARKUM; WARAPHAN WATANAKAROON; PONGPAT POLSORN.
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