Cathedral Fold by Axis Mundi

New York-based design firm Axis Mundi created this amazing concept for a new Cathedral in the city of Strasbourg, France.

“The design is composed of a series of unfolded arches which rest on a submerged ‘Latin Cross’ floor plan. A bas-relief of an abstracted Gothic cathedral will emerge on the eastern facade when the sun rises, and will gradually disappear during the course of the day.

A series of unfolded (ogival) concrete arches were designed to create majestic volumes of light for the interior spaces. The design of the front façade consists of a bas-relief of a digitized abstraction of a Gothic cathedral. As the sun rises in the east, it will cast shadows on the facade, and the bas-relief will become visible. It will gradually disappear during the course of the day. The floor plan is an abstraction of a Gothic Cathedral, and is composed of a Latin cross (or cruciform) plan, with a long nave making the body of the church, a transverse arm called the transept and, beyond it, the choir, chancel or presbytery.”

via AA13 Axis Mundi’s website