National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson once said, “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” Well, arguably one of the most interesting things you could possibly stand in front of on this Earth is a massive piece of artwork called “Reading Between the Lines” by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh in Borgloon, Belgium.
From some angles, it looks like a normal church with a cool, textured exterior. Then you stand directly beside it… and the bottom half of your mouth falls quickly and unexpectedly away from the top half.
Designed by Belgian architect duo Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh, this “church” is built out of 30 tons of horizontal steel beams and 2000 columns on top of a base of armed concrete.
It’s designed in such a way as to be transparent when viewed from different angles, and because of the spacing of the columns and beams it continues to morph into a different piece of art as you walk around it.
It has been called a “line drawing in space,” and as it serves more of an artistic purpose than a functional one (nobody will be holding a church service in there any time soon, we assume), it represents a beautiful intersection of art and architecture — which all the best architecture does.
But enough talk, here are more images of this spectacular structure from both the inside and outside, captured by 500px photographers who have experienced the “church” in person:
To learn more about this piece of architectural art, how it was designed, and why it was built, click here. And if you have an equally incredible, little-known spot you’ve photographed that you think challenges the “Reading Between the Lines” church in terms of uniqueness, drop us a link in the comments!
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