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The design was predicated on a sloping roof form, descending from the east
to the entrance to the west. The intent was to bring parishioners closer to
God through the more human-scaled entrance, rising majestically to the
altar. As in any church design, the spaces within and the forms of the
building itself, must speak about God.
One of the very unique features in the church is the wall at the sanctuary,
which is canted toward the congregation and describing three frames. The
centre frame helps focus the altar against a textured wall behind, where the
tabernacle is housed. The two other portals house a shrine for the eight
Canadian Martyrs and a niche for the Virgin Mary that also serves as a focus
for the baptismal font. These three frames together symbolize the Holy
Trinity.
The high windows at both the north and south ends of the church and the
skylights above the altar symbolize the light of God and also serve the
practical purposes of providing natural light and shielding the church from
the busy everyday life of the traffic outside the building.
Canadian Martyrs Church in Richmond, B.C. was dedicated in March 2003 |
