First Unitarian Church of Rochester

The First Unitarian Church of Rochester was completed in 1962 and was designed by architect Louis Khan. Like many of Khan’s other works this building has no ornamentation on the outside, and on the inside even the organs, often ornate by design, are minimized and have little effect on the building. This building also takes the natural light and reflects it off bare concrete, giving a softness and certain irreverence to the building. I think this building also represents Khan’s own religious notions, there is no religious iconography, which makes sense with Khan not being associated with any one religion. There is also very little attention paid to the interior of the building, which seems like it was designed that way so it wouldn’t distract from the spiritual purpose. This building was designed very simplistically, to play with soft natural light and help people experience the spirituality they came there for.

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