Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
Pier Luigi Nervi + Pietro Belluschi · San Francisco, United States · 1971
The Cathedral of Saint Mary is formed by four curving concrete roof shells that rise from the corners and meet high above the sanctuary. Pier Luigi Nervi and Pietro Belluschi use structure itself to create the building’s religious symbolism, producing a soaring interior without conventional Gothic or classical references. The hyperbolic surfaces funnel daylight downward and give the church a remarkably unified volume. Completed in 1971, the cathedral is a major American example of late-modern engineering and ecclesiastical architecture.