Lastly, here is the Church of the Cross finished in 1979 in Lahti, Finland. Unfortunately, he never got to see its completion as it was completed after his passing in 1976. To me, this is his most unique looking church, but not be much. He made some incredible churches that are remarkably beautiful. However, I love three things about this church. First, the church is built on a hill overlooking the city center. Second, the windows on the side of the brick shape a giant cross. Lastly, I absolutely love the bell tower. The way the sun reflects off of the tower makes it shine bright on top. Another wonderful part about it is the interior. Windows are along the top of the wall, the back of the ceiling, and along the ground floor. The windows create so much natural light in the room. Church of the Cross is the city’s second architectural landmark.

Church of the Cross

The Neue Vahr Highrise residential building was finished in 1962 in Bremen, Germany. While this may not be one of his prettiest designs compared to the churches and The Nordic House, I still find this building attractive. I personally like the wavy design of the building. Also, it is built next to a central square and a parking lot for the building. My favorite part of this building is that he built all the apartments to have a balcony facing west in order to “enjoy maximum daylight while at home.” I also love that he designed each floor with a common room. The roof also has a club locale and a covered terrace. The residents are meant to interact with each other and give the building a homey and friendly feel. I very much appreciate the community aspect.

Neue Vahr highrise residential building

The Nordic House opened in 1968 Reykjavik, Iceland. According to their website, “The goal of the Nordic House is to foster and strengthen cultural relations between Iceland and the other Nordic countries,” That is just an incredibly cool mission. The building hosts many cultural events, exhibitions, and is also a library. Aalto’s signature white modernism is shown both in the interior and exterior. I love the location he picked. As you can see, it is beautifully situated next to this pond and is very close to the ocean, the University of Iceland, and the national museum. The top of the building also seems to nearly match the color of the pond. All of the shrubs and other landscape complement the building. Another interesting note is that almost all of the furniture, lamps, and other objects in the house were designed by him. Very cool fact. Personally, the main room of the library looks similar to my town library as a kid. Of course, this one being much nicer and prettier.

Um húsið

The Church of the Three Crosses was completed in 1958 in Imatra, Finland. I love the design of this Lutheran Church. Its copper sheet roof reflects the trees around and the white walls and tower remind me of the clouds. In snow, the church looks almost natural within the whites matching. I appreciate the tower in the way that Aalto designed it to look like factory chimneys that are in the nearby area. It gives homage to the community. Also, interesting how he designed the interior. It is made up of three halls. Each is similar in size, and the walls are collapsable to make almost 800 seats. He also designed the interior so that all guests could audible hear the given sermon. Apparently a common problem amongst Lutheran churches. The number three is also represented in the bell which has three sides. The Church of the Three Crosses is said to be Aalto’s “most original church design.”

Church of the Three Crosses (Vuoksenniska church)

The meaning of the Redeemer Chapel is simple, to bring people closer to God. This is an amazing building that is both beautiful on the inside and outside. On the inside, the stained glass portrays images of the miracles Jesus performed as well as a few Old Testament stories. In the picture, you can see the windows show the stunning mountains in the background. The placement of the chapel is also of note. It is separated from the rest of the camp which adds to its special and holy feeling and atmosphere. As you can see, the lights also have cross designs on them. Also, the acoustics of the building are so good as there are no speakers so they need to be good, and thankfully they are :).

Redeemer Chapel means a great deal to me. This past summer, I worked as an Activities Team Leader at this camp, and throughout the summer this was a place where I would go to worship and learn on Sundays. During the week, it would be a place I often went to for rest, peace, encouragement, and to connect with God through His word. Feelings were often very positive while I was in this building. However, several times I was feeling discouraged, doubtful, and just unconfident in myself, but I would always leave feeling hopeful. Lastly, initial impressions were extremely positive. Coming to a camp to serve in a job as fun as activities team with other amazing college students in the stunning Colorado mountains was so exciting. Likewise, starting our journey in the chapel was just perfect.

Westminster Abbey. Definitely one of the most beautiful and stunning buildings I have ever seen in my life. It was originally built as a Roman Catholic church and is now of the Church of England denomination. Therefore, it has always been a place of worship and that is shown through its architecture inside and outside. Nearly since its foundation, it has also been a place of royal events such as coronations, weddings, and also burials.

First encountering this building was amazing. At the time, I had an idea of the importance of the building, but being there I understood that this building is more than that to them. While yes it is a place of worship, it is also a source of much of their history. The building has stood there for almost all of England’s time and with that, it represents their culture and people. By the grace of God, I was able to attend a church service there and shamefully I will admit the monotone music nulled me to sleep at one point. However, experiencing the building and the way they worship left an impact on how I view their religion. It was truly a spectacular experience of awe from the handiwork and details of the architecture and stained glass to the new experiences that their service gave me.

Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World. One of the most iconic buildings in the world. It’s meaning is purely entertainment, sentiment, nostalgia, and to inspire people to live and feel happy.

I have been to Disney World five times, and every time I walk into the sea of people and see this building, I feel happy. For me, it is an automatic feeling that I get when I see this building or its logo. A feeling placed and developed in me from all the Disney movies, shows, and marketing. The castle is almost synonymous with happiness or good feelings. I remember the first time I saw the castle. I was 8 years old, and I watched something Disney almost every day of my life. Seeing the castle for the first time was a moment I will not forget. I was pulling on my mom’s arm in awe and excitement of what I was actually seeing. The most recent time was with my father for the Orange Bowl. The castle still gives me those feelings of joy. Now, I feel more the sentimental feelings of my past.

This is the Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, Sicily. It was originally meant as a place of worship for the Greeks. Believed to worship the Greek goddess Harmonia. Later, used as a place of worship to the Roman goddess Concordia. Then, it was converted to a Christian basilica to honor the Christian disciples Peter and Paul. Finally, it was believed to be abandoned at one time and eventually made a historical site.

As a Christian man, visiting the Valley of the Temples was an incredible experience of all kinds of history. Truly, I was blown away by actually getting to see a building from one of the ancient empires. I did not even know it had a Christian story to it as well. Learning about this temple and the area was incredible to hear. Walking through the tour and hearing how old the temples were and their individual history was just too cool. Being in the presence of an area that Christian disciples, Greeks, Romans, and many other historical groups, was surreal. Not to mention the land that the temples were on was absolutely beautiful.