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)
© Hufton+Crow
Chapel of St. Ignatius / John Ronan Architects (Chicago, Illinois; New Facilities)
© Nathan Kirkman
Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Alojzij Šuštar Primary School / Robert Dolinar (Ljubljana, Slovenia; New Facilities)
© Luca Markez
Totihue Chapel / Gonzalo Mardones Arquitectos (Totihue, Chile; New Facilities)
© Nico Saieh
Al Warqa’a Mosque / ibda design (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; New Facilities)
© Sadao Hotta
Chinmaya Mission Austin / Miró Rivera Architects (Austin, Texas; New Facilities)
© Paul Finkel / Piston Design
The Joyful Church / The Beck Group (Pohang, South Korea; New Facilities)
© Seunghoon Yum
St. Francis Chapel / Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro Architects (Breckenridge, Texas; New Facilities)
© Nicholas McWhirter
Temple Israel of Hollywood / Koning Eizenberg Architecture (Los Angeles, California; Adaptive Reuse/Repurpose)
© Eric Staudenmaier
St. Patrick’s Cathedral / Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects (New York, New York; Restoration)
© Whitney Cox
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue / FXFOWLE (New York, New York; Restoration)
© Chris Cooper
St. Cecilia Church / Donham & Sweeney Architects (Boston, Massachusetts; Renovation)
© Bruce T. Martin Photography
Palm Beach Synagogue / Arthur Chabon Architect (Palm Beach, Florida; Liturgical/Interior Design)
© Kim Sargent
Knock Basilica Interior Design / Wejchert Architects (Knock, County Mayo, Ireland; Liturgical/Interior Design)
© Peter Moloney
Temple Adath Israel / Atkin Olshin Schade Architects (Merion Station, Pennsylvania; Liturgical/Interior Design)
© Tom Crane
Sacred Heart Cathedral of Kericho / John McAslan + Partners (Kericho, Kenya; Liturgical/Interior Design)
© Edmund Sumner
8-Shaped Passage / Shoji Oshio + UA architects (Ueno, Tokyo, Japan; Sacred Landscape)
© Masaru Niimi
Baptismal Font; St. Thomas More Catholic Church / Dekker / Perich / Sabatini (Oceanside, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
© RMA Photography
Pipe Organ; St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church / Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. (Carmel Valley, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
© Sherman Chu
Torah Ark, Bema, and Screen; Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School / Studio Bondy Architecture (Palo Alto, California; Liturgical Furnishings)
© Ken Gutmaker
Basilica de N.Senora de la Merced Façade Rehab / Eleftherios Piskitzis, Architect (Madrid, Spain; Unbuilt Work)
© Eleftherios Piskitzis
“Mary As Prophet”; Virginia Theological Seminary / Margaret Adams Parker (Alexandria, Virginia; Visual Arts)
© B. Cayce Ramey
“Mysteries of the Rosary”; Our Lady of Loreto / Scott Parsons (Foxfield, Colorado; Visual Arts)
© Steve Maylone
Cathedral of St. Thomas / Ranjit John Korah (Cochin, Kerala, India; Student Work)
© Ranjit John Korah
“City of Spirits” / Rafaela Paes (Recife, Brazil; Student Work)
© Rafaela Paes
“Pop-Up Places of Worship” / Lucas Boyd and Chad Greenlee (Various Locations; Student Work)
© Lucas Boyd and Chad Greenlee
“The Chapel of St. Adalbert” / Filip Strzelecki (Fiszewo, Poland; Student Work)
© Filip Strzelecki
“The Procession of the Souls” / Travis Price Architects with The Catholic University of America (Swinford, County Mayo, Ireland; Student Work)
© Travis Price
Sig Nordal 