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Herz-Jesu-Kirche

Interior Photo
Interior / Photo by Satake Kunihiko
Glass that invokes symbols and openness
In Gothic church construction, the tradition of "bringing in colored light" is extremely important. In this church, two methods are employed to channel beautiful and delicate light into the building through modern adaptation and abstraction of that tradition.
A symbolic front gate
The large front doors, 14 meters in height, have the capacity to open 120 degrees using a hydraulic device. When fully open, the front room and the plaza become one. On the glass installed on these doors is a ceramic print of a dark blue design with a hint of purple in the motif of nails, symbolizing an element of great importance and from the earth. On the sealed insulating glass, designs of turned over nails are printed on both sides. The difference in density caused by the designs overlapping each other give the bluish-purple doors an overall texture so deep, one would find it hard to believe that they were made of glass. In addition, a faint image of a floating cross spans the breadth of the doors
In Germany, there is a legal restriction in place that does "not permit construction that uses only chemical adhesion such as sealants for glass that is positioned more than two meters above the ground". As a countermeasure to this restriction, stainless steel fittings are attached to the glass on the doors to serve as fall prevention devices. Therefore, the fittings were put into place in order to comply with the law. However, the designers were able to utilize this situation to their benefit and successfully integrated the fittings into the design; they did so by meticulously placing the fittings so that they became accent pieces that complement the design.
Glass with a delicate sparkle
Both the left and right exterior walls are made up of glass with five levels of translucency so that the building in its entirety glows with light that ranges from translucent to "white light", as if it were a giant crystal. This delicately sparkling glass is tempered glass that uses silk screen and crystal particles together. By adjusting the level of the screen, the tone can be changed from transparent to translucent, allowing for a gradated effect. This glass is produced by baking the glass in a reinforced kiln after silk screening it with ceramic paint. At this point in the heating process, by baking crystal particles into the glass, a unique sparkly effect is incorporated into the milky-white surface.
In order to create a delicate sparkle and comfortable warm environment, Low-E film is coated on glass that has not been treated with the aforementioned silk screening process, such as inside the cavity of sealed insulating glass, enabling the lighting effects, heating efficiency and durability to be realized simultaneously.
(written by editor)

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