Architecture Essay: Comparing St. Therese & San Diego Churches

This essay provides a detailed comparison of the architectural styles of two prominent churches in San Diego, California: St. Therese of Carmel and San Diego de Alcala. The paper begins with an introduction that identifies the churches and their significance, including historical context and founding details. It then delves into descriptions of each church, highlighting key architectural features, design objectives, and construction methods. The essay contrasts the modern design of St. Therese, emphasizing space, light, and materials, with the traditional, Gothic-inspired architecture of San Diego de Alcala. The comparison covers aspects such as space utilization, ornamentation, and the presentation of religious beliefs, drawing on the provided references to support the analysis. The essay concludes by summarizing the key differences and similarities between the two churches, offering insights into the evolution of church architecture.

Running head: COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
Comparison in Architecture
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
Identification
This paper is regarding the comparison between the two famous pieces of architecture.
The two pieces of architecture selected to write about here are the two famous churches at San
Diego in California. The first church is the St. Therese of Caramel church that is selected as it is
a local church and it is very much popular indeed1. It is not a very old church and it has catered
to the needs of the common people of the region. The church is located there as it would benefit
the people of the coastal Carmel valley region. The church was named after the St. William
FitzHerbert. He was the Archbishop of York in England. This is why the church was dedicated to
the honor of the St. Therese of Carmel as the pastor appointed for that church was Father
Nicholas Dempsey in the year 1999 (sttheresecarmel.org). This church took its current name in
the year 2003 in the month of July. It is to say that the creator of this church was the Hyndman
and Hyndman Architects from Cardiff. They have also revealed the details of the design. The
objectives of the design have been disclosed by the architects properly.
Description
One of the main architects of the building was Shelley Hyndman. She has declared that
they intended to provide a footprint for the entire building. They also wanted to focus on the long
center aisle that could be used for the religious processions or the liturgies indeed. They wanted
to provide the people who gathered at the church a round space in which they could conduct their
religious offerings. They have also revealed that this entire building has been a frane of stell in
light gauge.2. The architects of the building Hyndman had said that the maximum height that
could be allowed for the preparation of this building was about 50 feet. However, this building
1 sttheresecarmel.org. "Home." St Therese of Carmel Catholic Church. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018
2 sttheresecarmel.org. "Home." St Therese of Carmel Catholic Church. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018

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COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
had exceeded that height as well. This was under the type 5 building limitations. It is believed
that type 3 building was required This construction work had to be a non-combustible
construction work indeed. There were many soffits and features of architecture that were suited
for the light weight nature of the steel studs that were put across the building. The super-structure
of the entire building was made of solid steel. The choice had to be made over the wood framing
of the entire building3. The structure of steel provided the building to have better and stronger
connections between the main architectural features of the building and the primary structure
indeed. There is a flexible track that also gave the better option of using the steel studs indeed. It
is because the curved forms could be very much economically viable than using of the curveable
products.
The second church selected here is the San Diego de Alcala. This church was founded in
the year 1769. The architect of this building was the Father Jose Bernardo Sanchez. The church
is also located at San Diego in California.4 The church was built by the inspiration of the Spanish
colonial power who dominated that region previously. This church is believed to be the first of
the twenty-one great California missionary churches. The entire building and its design,
architecture provides a better look at the grandeur of this building. This church serves the local
area as a parish church that is very much active5. This church also serves as the cultural center
for the entire region. This church very much represents the history, culture and tradition of the
entire region. This church began its journey in the year 1769 as Father Junipero Serra had set up
this Mission San Diego. The water supply was not that much great as well.6
3 sttheresecarmel.org. "Home." St Therese of Carmel Catholic Church. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018
4 www.missionsandiego.org. "Home - Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcalá." Mission Basilica San Diego de
Alcalá. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018
5 Barry, Jonathan, et al. Unity and Variety: A History of the Church in Devon and Cornwall. Royal College of
General Practitioners, 2015.
6 Espinosa, Gastón. "Alan J. Watt. Farm Workers and the Churches: The Movement in California and Texas."
(2012): 1251-1252

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COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
This church was built by the Spanish missionaries and The Religious Education Building
was built in the year 1891. This building was remodeled in the year 1930s.The masons were not
able to construct the building properly during that time. This building was built of brick
primarily.7 The floor walls of the second floor that were built during the 1930s were built of the
hollow clay tiles. The entire system had to be upgraded with the seismically embedded
components. The environmental compliance reports have been tallied here to get the best results
to build the entire church. The historians give a better opinion of the entire setting of the church.
Compare and contrast
One of the most important striking contrasts that can be taken as an important one is the
contrast between the traditional and the modern church architectures. The first church or the St.
Therese of Carmel is a relatively modern church. There are some four components in the proper
architecture like the space, sound, light and space. These components are very much essential in
the completion of the architectural designs. The St. Therese of Carmel is a modern church so the
architecture will be the same as well. This church is full of pure space. It is horizontal and there
are many rooms as well.8 The rooms are filled with proper light and the solids and voids have
been filled up as well.9 The extravagancy in the details of the architecture of the church is
7 Kanie, Norichika, Steinar Andresen, and Peter M. Haas, eds. Improving global environmental governance: Best
practices for architecture and agency. Routledge, 2013.
8 Hackel, Steven W. Children of coyote, missionaries of Saint Francis: Indian-Spanish relations in colonial
California, 1769-1850. UNC Press Books, 2017.
9 Woods Jr, Thomas. How the Catholic Church built western civilization. Regnery Publishing, 2012.

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COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
sometimes mission in this church as well. The church is based on the religious experience based
ornamentation. There are very few places for contemplation in this church. The architecture of
this church does not particularly follow the details of the traditional Roman Catholic churches.10
On the contrary, the second church San Diego de Alcala is one of those traditional kinds
indeed. This is why the architecture of this church has huge spaces. The religious beliefs are
presented in San Diego de Alcala in a proper manner.11 The structure of this church is like the
old Gothic structure. This attracts the tourists very much. The altar of the traditional churches is
presented properly in this church. As this place, the rooms are very spacious and the places for
worship are properly divided for the people from all classes of people.
References
10 Hoose, Bernard, ed. Authority in the Roman Catholic Church: theory and practice. Routledge, 2017.
11 www.missionsandiego.org. "Home - Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcalá." Mission Basilica San Diego de
Alcalá. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018

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COMPARISON IN ARCHITECTURE
Barry, Jonathan, et al. Unity and Variety: A History of the Church in Devon and Cornwall. Royal
College of General Practitioners, 2015.
Espinosa, Gastón. "Alan J. Watt. Farm Workers and the Churches: The Movement in California
and Texas." (2012): 1251-1252.
Hackel, Steven W. Children of coyote, missionaries of Saint Francis: Indian-Spanish relations in
colonial California, 1769-1850. UNC Press Books, 2017.
Hoose, Bernard, ed. Authority in the Roman Catholic Church: theory and practice. Routledge,
2017.
Kanie, Norichika, Steinar Andresen, and Peter M. Haas, eds. Improving global environmental
governance: Best practices for architecture and agency. Routledge, 2013.
sttheresecarmel.org. "Home." St Therese of Carmel Catholic Church. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb.
2018.
Woods Jr, Thomas. How the Catholic Church built western civilization. Regnery Publishing,
2012.
www.missionsandiego.org. "Home - Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcalá." Mission Basilica
San Diego de Alcalá. N.p., 2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018.