Saint Rita Church
A modernist classic of Belgian architecture, Saint Rita Church in Harelbeke Belgium was completed in 1966 by architects Leon Stynen and Paul De Meyer.
A modernist classic of Belgian architecture. This church is a design of architects Léon Stynen & Paul De Meyer. It was an example of 'subtle brutalism' and was intended as a hommage to Le Corbusier.
From designing to finishing the church took seven years in which an answer had to be found to the concrete contstruction. The fine, smooth design of the walls had to be re-engineerd by concrete expert and professor André Paduart. This to preserve the intended lightness of the original plans.
On the outside, the church had to be an austere space. A 'tent for God in the midst of his people' according to Stynen, who kept in mind the Second Vatican Council.
On the inside everything is still found according to the original design. The altar, organ, confession boxes, benches are all designed in the same modernist philosophy.
