Friday, April 5, 2024

Clifton Catholic Cathedral

Planned in the 1960s at the height of brutalism architecture in the UK with construction taking place 1970-73. The  exterior cladding is pre-cast concrete panels of pink Aberdeen granite aggregate, with contrasting white concrete piers marking the angles and portals. Concentric stages of walling rise to a steep double pyramid roof. A cross in a tripartite spire of bevelled fins, rises to 167' . In plan the church is an irregular hexagon subdivided internally into varied polygons. The controlling module for all angles and dimensions is an eighteen inch equilateral triangle; a classical approach giving unity. The exposed white concrete interior was cast in-situ using Russian redwood formwork giving very crisp texture. The concrete was all mixed by one man. The plywood tetrahedra in the nave ceiling are part of the acoustic scheme.

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