Constructing a Modern Image. The Representation of Post-War Churches in Belgian Periodicals (1955-1970)

Chiara Kuijpers; Femke Van der Meulen; Sven Sterken; Stephanie Van de Voorde

doi:10.6092/issn.2611-0075/19654

Authors

Chiara Kuijpers Vrije Universiteit Brussel https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7913-8089

Chiara Kuijpers obtained her degree as a Master of Science in Architectural Engineering at the University of Ghent in 2022. In 2023, she joined the Architectural Engineering Lab of the VUB, where she examines the construction history and heritage value of roof structures of post-war churches. This PhD research, called “Meaning and Material”, is funded by FWO, in collaboration with Femke Van der Meulen (KU Leuven) and under supervision of Prof. Stephanie Van de Voorde (VUB) & Prof. Sven Sterken (KU Leuven).
Femke Van der Meulen Katholieke Universiteit Leuven https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0407-0978

Femke Van der Meulen is a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Architecture at the KU Leuven. In 2023, she graduated with a Master in Architecture (KU Leuven). After her graduation, she joined the research project “Meaning and Material” supervised by Prof. Sven Sterken (KU Leuven) and Prof. Stephanie Van de Voorde (VUB), funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Together with fellow PhD researcher Chiara Kuijpers (VUB), she explores the possible defects, remediations, and spatial potential of roof structures of post-war churches.
Sven Sterken Katholieke Universiteit Leuven https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0760-1530

Sven Sterken is a Professor at the Faculty of Architecture at KU Leuven. His research focuses on the architectural agency of institutional actors (such as the Catholic Church) and international organizations (EU, NATO, etc.). Recent publications include Territories of Faith. Religion, Urban Planning and Demographic Change in Europe, 1945-1975 (with Eva Weyns, Leuven University Press, 2021), and A History of Urbanism in Europe (with Sergio M. Figueiredo and Kees Doevendans, ACCO Leuven, 2022).
Stephanie Van de Voorde Vrije Universiteit Brussel https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8302-7265

Stephanie Van de Voorde is a Professor in Architectural and Construction History and Heritage at the Department of Architectural Engineering of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Departing from traditional perspectives in architectural history and heritage studies, her main research topics are related to 20th-century building materials and building culture, as well as young heritage. Stephanie co-organized the Sixth International Congress on Construction History (6ICCH, Brussels, 2018) and is the author of ‘Post-war building materials in housing in Brussels 1945-1975’ (VUB, 2015).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0075/19654

Keywords:

Postwar Churches, Periodicals, Building Actors, Innovative Building Materials, Construction History

Abstract

This article examines the representation of post-war churches in Belgian and French periodicals during the 1950s and 1960s: Art d’Eglise, Art Chrétien, La Maison, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, La Technique des Travaux and Techniques etArchitecture. By unravelling how the architectural, liturgical, and material dimension of post-war churches tied together in the discourse on religious architecture, this article will investigate the dual meaning of the ‘constructed’ image throughout these publications. We both look at the construction of the modern church made visible through the lens of these issues, as well as at the actors that played a vital role in the actual construction of the church. Hence, this article will deconstruct the image of the modern church by looking into the complexity of this large building campaign to comprehend how the material dimension of post-war churches contributed to shaping this image of religious modernity.

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Constructing a Modern Image. The Representation of Post-War Churches in Belgian Periodicals (1955-1970)

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