Spanish studio EMBT has designed a brick-and-plaster-clad church in Ferrara, Italy, which has a copper roof informed by hot air balloons and an interior that aims to be a modern take on primitive churches.
The church was developed over 10 years and completed in 2021. It sits in the parish of San Giacomo Apostolo in the Arginone neighbourhood of Ferrara and has an uneven, organic shape.
The shape of the church roof nods to hot air balloons
The sculptural design and wavy copper-clad roof reference the hot air balloons that fill the sky above Ferrara each year.
"The inspiration came one day when we were analysing the territory and the environment, when we saw the sky of Ferrara full of hot air balloons for the international festival that is held every year in September," said Benedetta Tagliabue, director and co-founder of EMBT. The church is located in Ferrara, Italy
"Thus, we imagine a light and friendly church, which comes from heaven and is located in the place where the Christian community needs it most, a contemporary church, rich in strength and symbolism, surprising and familiar at the same time, inspired by the early days of the church," she added.
The exterior of the 710-square-metre church has a facade made from alternating brick and plaster that creates a striped effect.
In some sections, the bricks have been placed in a three-pointed protruding design in reference to the Renaissance-era Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara.
Brick and plaster create ...