Saint Joseph the Worker Church in West Valley City, Utah by Sparano + Mooney Architecture

Article source: Sparano + Mooney Architecture

The design of the St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church was inspired by its namesake, St. Joseph, the patron saint of laborers. Because of this association the design incorporates humble, common materials that express the importance of craft and the hand of the worker who created it. Materials are transformed from their raw state by the “worker” or craftsperson into something which emphasizes that they have been tooled and crafted by hand. The concrete elements are formed using rough sawn lumber with knots, grain and imperfections visible in the surface. The copper panels, chosen because of the parish’s relationship with the local copper mine, are cut and bent on site, versus factory fabricated.

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

• Architects: Sparano + Mooney Architecture
• Project: Saint Joseph the Worker Church
• Location: West Valley City, Utah, USA
• Photography: Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

The organization of the main sanctuary space is based on two offset ellipses. The space between the ellipses (poche space) creates liturgical functions including a chapel, a reconciliation room, prayer niches and other areas for statuary and religious art. The elliptical form of the church was conceived of as a true gathering geometry without corners, facilitating active participation from the community gathering there.

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

The upper portion of the ellipse contains windows which relate in form and color to the twelve apostles. These windows contain colored glazed panels, an affordable alternative and abstracted expression of traditional stained glass.

The Day Chapel, used for daily worship, is clad with copper panels. The interior is of a single material, tongue and groove vertical grain fir, from wall base to roof and is lit by a single, clear skylight.

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Image Courtesy © Bittermann

Tags: USA, Utah

Category: Church

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2018 at 8:04 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.