Présentation de l'éditeur :
Monograph on the grandiose SOM-designed Cathedral of Christ the
Light, the first cathedral to be built entirely in the twenty-first
century.
Two overlapping circles, known as a mandorla, form the basis
of the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California, which was
completed in 2008. The design, by Craig W. Hartman of Skidmore, Owings
& Merrill LLP (SOM), combines the early Christian symbol of the
fish—ichthys—with an innovative structure made of glass, wood,
and concrete. A glazed, bivalve exterior envelops the building, while a
layer of fritted glass diffuses light and heat. Inside, the vaulted
wooden ceiling soars forty meters upward and is reminiscent of a boat,
while an oculus in the enormous dome opens up to the sky. Aisles are
like rays leading to the rectangular altar. The unique Omega window
behind the altar was created with the help of new technology developed
specifically for the cathedral: an image of the Romanesque relief of
Christ from the tympanum of Chartres Cathedral was digitized, after
which a laser was used to perforate holes in an aluminum panel,
rendering an eighteen-meter-tall pixilated image. The image of the
Pantocrator is visible as 94,000 points of light inside the cathedral.
nos livres 
