Architecture studio Inuce has created a church wrapped in 100,000 panes of stained glass that aims to combine "Christian tradition and Chinese local authenticity" in Luoyuan, China.
Built in the coastal city of Luoyuan in eastern China, the church was created to serve the area's Christian community and be a refuge from the region's rapid development.
Inuce designed the church in the Chinese city of Luoyuan
"Decades of industrial development and accelerated urban growth have scarred Luoyuan's mountain slopes with quarries, sullied idyllic farmlands with factories, and pushed vast residential districts deeper and deeper into its hinterland," explained Inuce principal Dirk U Moench.
"Built on a remote site in the midst of such desolation, the new church was conceived to offer refuge and comfort from the torments of a changing world and cater specifically to the hopes and wishes of many locals who grew up in the region," he told Dezeen. The auditorium is enclosed in blue stained-glass walls
The church contains a main auditorium along with a youth hall, cafe, tea house, classrooms and offices.
The studio aimed to combine these functions in a structure that was informed by both Christian and Chinese traditions.
"The particular challenge of this project was to integrate the complex and mundane requirements of such a mixed-use building with the dignified presence of a place of worship, whilst retaining a sense of Christian tradition and Chinese...