Architecture studio Inuce has created a church in the town of Julong near Quanzhou, China, which evokes the form of a biblical ark resting on a rock.
Located at the foot of a mountain surrounded by forest and with views across the town, the Mountain Church of Julong references both the form and representation of an ark.
Inuce has created the Mountain Church of Julong
"Biblical archetypes were fundamental in our design process," Inuce founder Dirk U Moench told Dezeen.
"As a powerful symbol for shelter and new beginnings, the ark of salvation, safely landed on a foundation of rock, became the crystallisation point for our design," he continued.
The church is designed to evoke the form of an ark resting on a rock "The idea underlies all the essential architectural choices with regards to the church's nave, defining its iconic form, colour palette, and, of course, its placement at the highest point of the site," added Moench.
Built on a sloped site, the church steps up the hill with a series of four terraces clad in granite slabs to resemble a rocky outcrop.
The front of the main hall rises to resemble the ark's bow
Mountain Church of Julong's main hall, which can host 1,000 worshipers, is placed at the top of the site and designed to look like an abstracted ark on top of the rock-like terraces.
Its oval shape is clad in scored glass-reinforced concrete (GCR) panels that also wrap around the circular entrance atrium.

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