Each year, Faith & Form magazine and the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA) reward the best religious architecture, design and art for religious spaces. In their 2016 awards, the jury recognized 28 projects across 10 categories, with almost half of the winners designed for sites outside of North America. Aside from this diversity of location, another trend in the awards was a tendency toward material honesty and simplicity. "Several jurors were impressed with how designers used an economy of means with simple, elegant materials to meet the needs of congregations," said Michael J Crosbie, editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, adding that "a reverence for natural materials was seen in many submissions, and in winning projects." Read on to see all 28 winners.
Jumaa Mosque / John McAslan + Partners (Doha, Qatar; New Facilies)
Chapel of St. Ignatius / John Ronan Architects (Chicago, Illinois; New Facilities)
Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Alojzij Šuštar Primary School / Robert Dolinar (Ljubljana, Slovenia; New Facilities)
Totihue Chapel / Gonzalo Mardones Arquitectos (Totihue, Chile; New Facilities)
Al Warqa’a Mosque / ibda design (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; New Facilities)
Chinmaya Mission Austin / Miró Rivera Architects (Austin, Texas; New Facilities)
The Joyful Church / The Beck Group (Pohang, South Korea; New Facilities)
St. Francis Chapel / Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro Architects (Breckenridge, Texas; New Facilities)
Temple Israel of Hollywood / Koning Eizenberg Architecture (Los Angeles, California; Adaptive Reuse/Repurpose)
St. Patrick’s Cathedral / Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects (New York, New York; Restoration)
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue / FXFOWLE (New York, New York; Restoration)
St. Cecilia Church / Donham & Sweeney Architects (Boston, Massachusetts; Renovation)
Palm Beach Synagogue / Arthur Chabon Architect (Palm Beach, Florida; Liturgical/Interior Design)
Knock Basilica Interior Design / Wejchert Architects (Knock, County Mayo, Ireland; Liturgical/Interior Design)
Temple Adath Israel / Atkin Olshin Schade Architects (Merion Station, Pennsylvania; Liturgical/Interior Design)
Sacred Heart Cathedral of Kericho / John McAslan + Partners (Kericho, Kenya; Liturgical/Interior Design)
8-Shaped Passage / Shoji Oshio + UA architects (Ueno, Tokyo, Japan; Sacred Landscape)
Baptismal Font; St. Thomas More Catholic Church / Dekker / Perich / Sabatini (Oceanside, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
Pipe Organ; St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church / Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. (Carmel Valley, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
Torah Ark, Bema, and Screen; Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School / Studio Bondy Architecture (Palo Alto, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
Basilica de N.Senora de la Merced Façade Rehab / Eleftherios Piskitzis, Architect (Madrid, Spain; Unbuilt Work)
“Mary As Prophet”; Virginia Theological Seminary / Margaret Adams Parker (Alexandria, Virginia; Visual Arts)
“Mysteries of the Rosary”; Our Lady of Loreto / Scott Parsons (Foxfield, Colorado; Visual Arts)
Cathedral of St. Thomas / Ranjit John Korah (Cochin, Kerala, India; Student Work)
“City of Spirits” / Rafaela Paes (Recife, Brazil; Student Work)
“Pop-Up Places of Worship” / Lucas Boyd and Chad Greenlee (Various Locations; Student Work)
“The Chapel of St. Adalbert” / Filip Strzelecki (Fiszewo, Poland; Student Work)
“The Procession of the Souls” / Travis Price Architects with The Catholic University of America (Swinford, County Mayo, Ireland; Student Work)