SHONAN CHRIST CHURCH, an Ode to Light by Takeshi Hosaka Architects

SHONAN CHRIST CHURCH, located in a residential district of the city of Fujisawa, is the work of the Takeshi Hosaka architectural firm. The former prayer hall had become too small to welcome believers, so a decision was made to build a new church with one imperative: that the building be in harmony with the surrounding  architecture. 

The architectural firm designed a church with no spire climbing up towards the sky and with only one floor, the peak being 6.8 m high. Made from reinforced concrete, SHONAN CHRIST CHURCH blends in within this district located close to the beach. The wooden cross on the façade is the only indication that it is a religious building. 

Light, the building’s central element

The building covers an area of roughly 175 m2 and is very sober in appearance, but on entering reveals an ingenious feat of architecture, dedicated entirely to natural light. The architects designed the structure of the church so it would be in harmony with the movement of the sun, and those present could be welcomed into an environment lit exclusively by natural light. 

The building comprises one block, covered with six curved roofs of different heights, all linked by a picture window that allows light to enter. The carefully considered positioning of the interstices allows light to come into the church directly or indirectly. Thus, when services are taking place, between 10:30 a.m. and noon, the lighting is very soft, reflecting indirectly on the walls, only allowing a direct ray to come through during the hymn at the end of the service. The construction recalls that of the Church of the Light in Ibaraki, built in 1989 by architect Tadao Ando in the suburbs of Osaka. 

Takeshi Hosaka Architects pushed the level of precision even further: the rays from the moon, when full, also illuminate the interior of the building when it is plunged into darkness. 

SHONAN CHRIST CHURCH (2014), a project by Takeshi Hosaka Architects, can be viewed on their website.