Built between 1951 and 1958 as part of the reconstruction of the town of Le Havre, which was almost entirely destroyed during World War II, this church acts as a memorial to the five thousand civilians who died in the conflict. The church was designed by the chief architect for the reconstruction of Le Havre, Auguste Perret, teacher and mentor of Le Corbusier. After Auguste Perret died in February 1954, architects Georges Brochard, Raymond Audigier and Jacques Poirrier finished building the church according to Perret’s designs.
With a base in the shape of a Greek cross, the height and outline of the church fit perfectly into the new urban environment created by the Perret Studio. The volumes of the church are made of two terraces, 17 and 24 metres high, a pyramidal structure raising up to 35 metres, dominated by the cylinder of the tower culminating at 110 metres, shown in this post from the inside. The openwork of the tower and the progression of light from the low part of the church towards the top add importance to the central plan adopted for the nave, with the number of pieces of glass increasing proportionally with the height The shape of the tower allows an exceptional quality of lighting of the inside. The prefabricated claustras, without a frame, hold a piece of white glass on the outside and a piece of coloured glass on the inside. The stained glass pieces are grouped vertically forming walls of light: 12 768 pieces of coloured glass were used to cover a 378m2 surface.
More info: http://unesco.lehavre.fr/en/understand/saint-josephs-church
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