Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in Philadelphia, Pa., features a modern aesthetic and functionality with Howe's 40/4 chair, designed by David Rowland.
Despite being designed back in 1964, the 40/4 chair by David Rowland works beautifully in contemporary structures for worship. Here we share some of the stories and images of the churches whose architects we’ve worked with to place chairs that look and function in just the ways that the modern church and its congregation needs them to.
1-Unitarian Universalists Fellowship of Central Oregon (UUFCO), USA
This stunning, contemporary structure, designed with simple elegance as its guiding principle, uses clean, flowing lines to delight the eye and regular vertical and horizontal lines to give a sense of stability.
UUFCO chose the 40/4 to sit within its warm wood interior, which displays a strong connection to nature through largescale windows filled with views of the high desert central Oregon landscape around it.
To complement the structure and these vistas, the church unusually chose the chair in a variety of tones that call to mind the subtle greens, browns and greys of the desert, as well as the soft colours of its springtime wildflowers.
2-St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Sydney, Australia
Founded in the 1850s as a mission chapel in Sydney’s slums, 150 years later St. Barnabas Anglican Church was almost totally destroyed by a devastating fire.
The brief for rebuilding the structure was to design and implement a new church for a modern city, and some of Australia’s top architects came together to realize this.
St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Sydney, Australia
When it came to fitting out the interior, seating was called for that was warm and welcoming, and that complemented this new architectural feat. But it also had to meet many more needs beyond these: it had to maximize the interior space; it had to link yet be both generous for the body and narrow in profile; it had to be compactly stackable and easy to maneuver; it had to have longevity; and, importantly, it had to be beautiful.
3-Johanneskirche Troisdorf, near Bonn, Germany
The major renovation, rebuilding and adaptation of this traditional evangelical church by Bonn-based Martini Architects to become a multi-functioning space was completed in 2001.
Photo by: ©Tomas Riehle/Arthur Images
Johanneskirche Troisdorf, near Bonn, Germany
Flexibility was the church’s new aim, so that it could be both a cultural building and a place of worship. Martini achieved this with mobile glass walls, and by making moveable what is normally fixed: the baptismal font, altar and pulpit.
The 40/4 chair was chosen in American cherry and, for daily use, is set up to mark out the church’s main mave and centre as three groups of up to six rows of linked chairs. Smaller groups in the chancel function as VIP seating. The church values the chair’s sturdy qualities, while the architects love its classical values and elegant transparency.
Photo by: ©Tomas Riehle/Arthur Images
Want to find out how the chair stands up in older places of worship?
https://www.howe.com/us/how-modern-chair-can-compliment-period-church-interior-part-1-style
