Located in Augsburg, Germany, St Moritz Church that was founded almost 1,000 years ago has gone through many transformations by fire, changes in liturgical practice, aesthetic evolution and wartime bombing.
To give the existing architecture of the church a new and modern look, architects at British firm John Pawson renovated the church in a minimalistic style—but with elements that help keep in mind that it’s a sacred place.
The architects replaced glass windows with thin slices of onyx, to diffuse the light of the sun that shone through—giving the interior of the church a bath of light, sans the harsh effect of the sun.
Its artefacts were relocated around the church to make the space seem neater and more spacious, “to achieve a clearer visual field,” the architects told Dezeen.
The floor and alter were given a Portuguese limestone finish to keep to the clean and white interior, and was contrasted with the dark stained wooden pews, choir stalls and organ.
Dezeen has also spoken to the architects for more details about the redesign.
[via Dezeen]