Catholic Church of St Gerard
In his three part critique on architecture ‘The Stones of
Venice’ John Ruskin tried to recuperate the general publics and the design and
architecture communities respect for the Gothic style of architecture. He claimed
that its flaws (it was commonly referred to as a barbaric and simple form of
design) were one of its most redeeming qualities. He believed this was because
it meant that the workers had freedom to do their work how they wished, and that
this was a timeless metaphor for the social conditions of the era. He believed that
the uniform design of his time (nineteenth century) represented the exact
opposite of this and wished for a social change, sparking the beginning of the
gothic revival period. This is a perfect parallel to St Gerard’s Catholic
Church and Monastery in Wellington. This church was built in 1908 during the
final years of the Gothic revival period and shows many of the standard Gothic
motifs of the time such as high pointed arches, oak and other floral themes and
high ceilings. It was built for the Redemptorists, a Christian sect that took
Jesus’ message of “Love one another as I have loved you” to action and wished
to lift the social conditions of not just third world countries but also the
poorer parts of developed societies, just as John Ruskin did. In the book ‘Living
Architecture: Gothic’ the Author Hans H. Hofstatter claims “we now understand
the Gothic as a mighty synthesis of the new attitude of the Christian faith and
architectural technique” further supporting the idea that Gothism was the face
of ‘good’ ‘honest’ Christianity and 'good' 'honest' design.
John Ruskin, "The Nature of Gothic." excerpted in German, C. (2003) The Industrial Design Reader (pp.18-20). New York: Allworth Press.
Hofstatter, H. H. (1970). Living Architecture: Gothic. New York, USA: Grosset & Dunlap Inc.
