Photographer Jamie McGregor Smith has spent the last five years capturing brutalist and modernist churches across Europe. Here, he picks his 12 favourites from his Sacred Modernity book.
With 139 photographs of 100 churches, McGregor Smith created the book to showcase the sculptural and unique forms of some of the churches built in the post-war period in countries including Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the UK.
Published by Hatje Cantz with essays by writers Jonathan Meades and Ivica Brnic, Sacred Modernity: The Holy Embrace of Modernist Architecture aims to bring attention to the unconventional buildings.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata in Italy (above) and L'église Saint-Nicolas in Switzerland (top) are some of the brutalist churches in Sacred Modernity "Many are surprised to discover the thought-provoking nature of brutalist architecture and are drawn to its challenging and unconventional qualities," McGregor Smith told Dezeen.
"In essence, the experience of encountering brutalist churches often involves a transformation from scepticism to appreciation, as individuals are confronted with the unique beauty and architectural innovation that these structures represent."
McGregor Smith recalled that his work on the book began when he visited the brutalist Wotruba Church in Vienna, which sparked his interest in modernist church architecture. Since then, he has been driven to discover more churches like it.
The Wotruba Church in Austria sparked Jam...