Location: Atlantida, Uruguay
Designed and built by Ing. Eladio Dieste
Designed in 1950 built in 1956.

How to get there:

It is located at 35km from the airport of Montevideo, so you can either take a bus (companies COPSA or COT) to Atlantida, or rent a car.
(call me with some time, I'll be happy to drive you, but beers are on you!)

As soon as you get to the entrance of Atlantida, (there is a loop) you should take left, that is in the opposite direction of the city, toward the north.
You drive/ walk for 4 km approx, and there it is, right on the road (national road N 11).

The facade is a separate structure that never meets the side walls or the roof.
The undulating brick wall below supports the choir and the front windows.

Notice the separate entrance to the underground baptism place located under the circular flowers and illuminated by the round central volume closed by a slab of onyx.

On the side you notice the undulated side walls that support the roof.
I will try to show pictures of details not generally seen in the mags, Shulman already made a good job with those shots!
Notice the "Campanile" to the right

Inside the bell tower. An elicoidal stair of cantilevered steps... made with bricks!! iron rods between the bricks provide structural strength.

All the way round from the rear. This protuding volume is a little space to the left of the altar inside. A thin slab of white alabaster closes it and lets light inside.

This is as seen from inside... not a good picture, sorry
Notice that all bricks were individualy cut to give perspective efect to the joints!

Now let's go inside. The church is small, very cool ( 32 c degrees outside!)
The presence of god given by light effects, the humble location of the altar were all part of the "revolution" that took place in the church in the early 60s, so this was a revolutionary church in the way it interpreted Christian's as well.

The altar is a solid block of granite polished only on top (must be 1 ton at least!).

Of course Christians cannot live without icons (I am too, but don't think Dieste meant these statues to be there), so they placed some statues directly were the sun ray comes in (notice the small skylight above).
This was 11am Sunday , so my guess is this ray must fall over the altar some time closer to midday (well, not all the year).
(I don't mean the Yepes Christ, intended to be there by Dieste, but a Mary statue to the right were the rays fall, it is so illuminated that you cant almost see it in the picture!)

A view from the choir. To the right of the altar is a small deposit.
Notice how light comes in from behind the altar and is reflected in walls and ceiling. There is absolutely no artificial light here...

Here a view of the choir. There are alabaster slabs between the brick planes to the right. They are only one brick thick, with thin iron rods inside the mortar between them...

A view towards the choir. Notice the separation of the facade to the side walls and the roof.
the efect of the light on the bricks is magical!

A closer look at the altar lets you notice the way the bricks are layered behind it, placed with one vertex protruding, a wonderfully pattern.
The Christ and crucifix are by Yepes.
he says he wanted a more raw block of granite...

He also "forced" the priest to walk around the altar and step into it "in the humble way it SHOULD BE" in stead of "appearing onstage like a magic puppet from behind"

A view from the door, the flowers above the dome toped with the circular onyx slab and the entrance of the Baptism underground.
Unfortunately it was closed, I think flooded! :bang head
Notice the floor is also made with bricks

The last one. below the choir are the "confessionals"(?), which evidently are abandoned. Confession was very strict before the reforms in 1962, now it is almost a lost tradition...
Hope you liked these, you can check the Eladio Dieste (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1998&highlight=dieste) thread for the plans and sections of this church, and more "magazine" pictures... :rock on:

Magnificent & Humbling

Thank You Primo for making the special visit

Do you have any knowledge of the man himself ?

where is the kmz??? :D

Having searched the web for the information about his works, I can tell you this thread is PRECIOUS as gold. :rock on:
You should give boosts to your fellow Uruguayan architects more often and make them known...especially to those talented and not-so-well known ones.
Now I can smell a vein of gold there.
Do you have any knowledge of the man himself ?
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eladio_Dieste)
Architecture Week (http://www.architectureweek.com/2004/0929/culture_1-1.html)

Wow m8s! thanks for your opinions!
As we say here "no one's a prophet in his own land", his work is so familiar to me, but didn't know it was so well known internationaly!

The kmz is in the other thread, with the plans, etc! Will post a map soon too.

Dieste graduated as an Engineer in 1943, he eventually taught architecture in Argentina and Uruguay. I consider him on another league, unique. Truth in execution, incredible knowledge of native materials, innovative technique and unequaled beauty.

http://www.rau.edu.uy/uruguay/cultura/dieste.htm

This link has a previous discussion on Dieste:

http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1998&highlight=dieste

Magnificent & Humbling

Thank You Primo for making the special visit

Do you have any knowledge of the man himself ?
Not personaly unfortunantly!
he passed away in 1996.
Borned in 1917, became an Engeneer in 1943.
He was a friend of Artist Joaquín Torres Garcia and Catalan Architect Augusto Bonet exiled in Uruguay, he started to experiment with ceramic vaults, some say based on the traditional Catalan vault.

He made a rare conjuction of Engeneer and buisnesman, founding Dieste and Montaner building company back in 1953, and built almost 1 million square meters!

I remember back in 1990, I was working at the ministry of public works, and he submited a proposal for a 5.000 sq meter market. He competed with 4 companies who submited metal structures, and his was the cheapest one!

Here you can see the workers building one of many industrial buildings...
all evenly distributed above the vault! :not worth

Superb...Primo...superb... :not worth
Thanks for your tour to the Iglesia...

Great Marcelo!

If you can get your hands on the italian magazine CASABELLA n° 684/685, titled "IL BUON DIO ABITA ANCORA NEI PARTICOLARI?" from december 2000 / January 2001, there's an excellent coverage of Eladio Dieste work. Just in case... Besides, this issue also covers works from Sverre Fehn, Herzog & De Meuron, Toyo Ito, Glenn Murcutt, FLW, Mies... well, an excellent issue devoted to masters of detailling! Get it! :rock on:

wow Michel that's a great magazine to have!
JAJA the tittle is great: "GOD STILL LIVES IN THE DETAILS?"

Forgot to mention that the Christ at the altar is by Yepes and was intended to be there by Dieste.

I just found his own wrightings about this church, in spanish, but will translate.

The underground space was intended to be covered by soil and has an onix slab to let light in. The idea was to represent the ritual of death and resurection, by going underground and then the "new christian" emerging inside the church.

Here his resume:

"
Resumiendo mis intenciones más conscientes en el proyecto de esta iglesia, escribí en aquel entonces: "puedo decir que procuré que éste respondiera a un estilo serio, a la vez severo y amable de piedad, con una gran confianza en el espíritu cristiano de los humildes que han de usarla... que la iglesia como arquitectura, no fuera un obstáculo para una piedad verdadera, sino su manifestación primera.-

Los medios y los materiales usados en la construcción también quieren ser expresivos: son humildes como los fieles para quienes la iglesia se construyó, pero fueron tratados con un desvelo que aspira a ser el homenaje que estos humildes merecen".-

I can say that I intented for this project to respond in a serious, severe yet kind in piety way, with a great confidence in the cristian spirit of those humble ones who would use it.. that the church as architecture would not be an obstacle for a sincere piety but its first manifestation.
The means and materials used on its construction are also intended to be expresive: humble as the faithfull for whom the church was built, but treated with such efort and respect intended to be the homage these humble ones deserve.



"Toda la experiencia que significó esta obra para mí no es fácil de resumir: fueron dos años de actividad casi obsesiva"

It is not easy to resume what all this experience meant to me; those were two years of almost obsesive activity ...

Fantastic photos, thanks for the images!

Fantastic photos, thanks for the images!
Well thanks!
Actually they were taken with a crappy Kodak 1,3 Mpixel camera I bought years ago when they just went over 1 MP...

A few more pictures, here one of the chorus stairs, entirely made of bricks too...

Here the stairs that come up from the baptism (Baptisterio in spanish), as you can see out of bounds... :bang head

Another view of the choir, this time towards the sun.
Notice the onyx slabs below and the operable windows above to allow air circulation.

Here a closer view of the Baptism entrance... unfortunately the door has been damaged or vandalized

and a belgian magazine.
Notice the title

Nice pic! This is exactly what I uderstand by "Organic Architecture"...

He mus have stood above the baptism entrance to take this one :wondering

Just had lunch with my father. He visited the construction site back in 1956 with his univ. class, so I corrected the dates and added some info.
They were astonished by the perfection of details, by the way bricks were cut to make the perspective effect (check N 6).
He couldn't believe the underground Baptistery was flooded!!
He gave me some more info on other buildings I'll be posting soon...

He's also an architect? :wondering

He's also an architect? :wondering
no Dieste is Engineer, but was named Honoris Causa of Architecture by this work!
Both my parents studied architecture, they fell in love at the univ. ( I was conceived while they were touring L'Unite and Ronchamp... ).:D
They then got married and never finished their studies. My father then worked in a construction company for 30 years.

Both my parents studied architecture, they fell in love at the univ. ( I was conceived while they were touring L'Unite and Ronchamp... ).:D
They then got married and never finished their studies. My father then worked in a construction company for 30 years.

This can make a good movie. :D

This can make a good movie. :D
Actually they traveled through europe visiting the new architecture icons (this was in 1960). I must thank those "siestas" betweem buildings for my existence...! :D

( I was conceived while they were touring L'Unite and Ronchamp... ).:D
So you're aware that you could be the son of a sacrilege!! LOL

Great thread Primo :not worth . Reminds me of an architect that practices in India , Laurie Baker . Some of his work , don't have good photos though

Now this is incredible: In Madrid they have built two replicas, one of the Durazno church in "Mejorada del Campo" a "reduced size replica"?? :bang head
In "Torrejón de Ardoz" a reproduction of the Atlantida Church will soon start construction :bang head
Anyone has more info on this??
What is this, a church theme park??

According to what I see in this site, the church was designed with Dieste and is not a replica...
he actualy worked for this construction in his last years, even moved to Spain for a while.
I guess its a rumour for the similarities to those in Uruguay...

http://www.arranz.net/web.arch-mag.com/7/emer/emer1t.html

Here with autostitch...

2...

3...

and 4.

GREAT PICTURES UPLOADED IN FLICKR (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/eladiodieste/?page=1)

Thanks Primo

This is an amazing design. Inspirational.

I'm amazed at how they can get such fluid forms with such a basic, inflexible module.

Fantastic!

I'm amazed at how they can get such fluid forms with such a basic, inflexible module.


'Flexible Standardization' - Alvar Aalto

JAJA, my father visited the site with his univ, class while on construction, and they were amazed with the "new tech" brick cutter! ...Diamond disks and high speed saw, now a normal tool in construction sites..

Great Images! Nice Design!
the way the openings were treated on the main facade is just amazing...
Thanx for sharing Primo...

WoW Primo !, I don´t know how can I missed this thread. This is one of my favourites!. Photos of this building and an excelent description are decorating the first floor of the Ciudad universitaria in Buenos Aires. You have added an excellent and ?unvaluable? (i don´t know how to write this) material to this site. Thanks :cheers:

The connection with this little building by Gaudi (www.sagradafamilia.org/capta03/pags/obrador.htm) is also interesting to notice

Here lots of original construction documents by Dieste

Plans
http://www.patrimoniouruguay.net/PLANOobra02.htm

Pictures, specifications, etc

(Click on DIESTE tag to the left)

http://www.patrimoniouruguay.net/index2.htm

Great pictures of the construction phase!

http://www.patrimoniouruguay.net/obra02.htm

Here the workers cleaning the brick joints standing over the wood casing that has just been lowered.

very nice...is there an easy translator for the job? I'd love to learn more and more about his methods and specs for the way he utilizes brick. A majority of our work in our office utilizes brick, and I'd love to learn new ways to change things up a bit.

There are .doc in the link above with detailed specifications made by him, unfortunantly for you in spanish...

I could translate for you some specific info, uppon request:cool:

thanks for a lot of great information about a project we might not otherwise see much of... pics are great, as well as the other info.

dieste's use of brick is, to say the least amazing, but i would be the last person to make a trip up those stairs in the campanile... VERTIGO!!! :eek: it's a real shame that the baptistry is closed. that seems like it would be a really intersting procession of spaces through which to enter the church.

he makes a very interesting description of the Baptistry and the procesion of the baptism ceremony, were the person to be baptised would be taken by his relatives from the street down to the earth, into the circular space with the onyx light, and would finaly emerge in the temple...

I totaly missed this thread. Amazing! Thank you Primo for your well done effort and respect to Dieste's remarkable work. :not worth

Visited the church today, national heritage day, and to my surprise, the baptistery was drained and repaired! here some pictures of it...

Here after entering the street door, going down the steps

To the right, the circular brick space covered with a onyx slab to allow a yellow light to come in...

A closer view...

Walking towards the church, looking back...
notice the light bulbs are under a slab of onyx too, so natural light illuminates the corridor

A view from outside, notice the skylights...

Here a view of the vaulted roof of the circular baptistery, with new flowers for the ocasion..:rolleyes:

Here a view behind the altar.
Notice how the light enters on the windows above.

The rectangular slab of onyx with a square of glass is to illuminate a small office behind the altar.
(the metal grate is a later addition..)

A view of the back wall...

Exellent post Primo, thanks for sharing, this a a project that desrves to be visited, but it soooo far away.

It is all in bricks? or the bricks are atached to a concrete structure? amazing... :cheers:

A bit spooky, a bit of Dreamland, it is something that makes you believe that everithing is possible since one has the will and the faith to do it. Thanks for the beautiful post!!!

Exellent post Primo, thanks for sharing, this a a project that desrves to be visited, but it soooo far away.

It is all in bricks? or the bricks are atached to a concrete structure? amazing... :cheers:

no no, Dieste developed what he called "reinforced ceramic" , the combination of bricks, rebars and mortar generates in fact a "new" material, used in curved surfaces can bare big spans. It behaves much like concrete, but is lighter and thinner!

In the link I posted there are lots of construction photos, here a sample, which is actually 3MB in size, so you can see much more detail if you download the original.

BTW, do come visit me Sandro! I am falling off the tip of South America

The church is just 30km from the airport..:D

sorry, here the link again, just click on the Dieste tag at the left:

http://www.patrimoniouruguay.net/index2.htm

There are pictures and .doc with his specifications for the construction, and some conferences he gave about it.

Here a detailed picture of the roof made by him.

Notice the 6mm rebars (armaduras) placed in each joint of bricks (tejuela) and "ticholos", and the thick tension rebars (tensor) that bare the side pressure of the roof on the walls.

AMAZING! i love this post and Dieste work Hermano :)...
I love that circular hole in the roof, so the light can go in, with that particular way of generating textures with bricks and solar light... beatifull.. :D...

Great post thenk for share! Cya!

I found this one in the web, is another more to show how structure is made! Amazing!