{"id":10174,"date":"2026-04-29T12:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/10174\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T12:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:32:41","slug":"kengo-kuma-adds-arched-entrance-to-angers-cathedral-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/10174\/","title":{"rendered":"Kengo Kuma adds arched entrance to Angers Cathedral in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arched\u00a0<\/a>openings<\/a> punctuate\u00a0the contemporary entrance of Angers Cathedral in France<\/a>, recently completed by the studio of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opened earlier this month, the concrete entrance doubles as a gallery to frame and protect the sculptural doorway on the west side of the Angevin Gothic-style cathedral.<\/p>\n

\"AngersKengo Kuma has added an arched entrance to Angers Cathedral<\/p>\n

The rectangular form is broken by five arches, framing views of the historic sculptures in the doorway. Externally, the arches are wrapped by archivolts \u2013 a series of ornamental bands.<\/p>\n

According to Kengo Kuma and Associates<\/a>, the 21-metre-long structure aims to create “a harmonious dialogue” with the architecture of the medieval building, which was constructed between the 12th and 13th centuries.<\/p>\n

\"AngersThe entrance doubles as a gallery<\/p>\n

However, the extension has proven controversial, with French newspaper Ouest-France describing it as a “concrete UFO”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, many locals are torn over whether the addition is an “architectural jewel or a wart”, the paper reported.<\/p>\n

\"MedievalIt frames views of colourful sculptures<\/p>\n

Kengo Kuma and Associates revealed its design for the Angers Cathedral gallery in 2021. It was selected in a competition with five entrants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the time, the studio said its goal was to “put ourselves in the shoes of the builders of the Middle Ages”.<\/p>\n

\"AngersIt is formed from concrete cast in-situ<\/p>\n

“We wanted to put ourselves in the shoes of the builders of the Middle Ages and to create a regulatory framework, using compasses, thus generating the proportions which lead to unity,” the studio said.<\/p>\n

“It is this technical process that creates a contemporary feeling to the building, while remaining part of the history of architecture.”<\/p>\n

\"ConcreteThe sculptures were originally sheltered by a 13th-century canopy<\/p>\n

The medieval sculptures, which were added to the building in the 1600s, were rediscovered in 2009 when the cathedral was cleaned.<\/p>\n

Finished in blue, red and yellow tones, they were originally sheltered by an entrance canopy built in the first third of the 13th century, though this was demolished in 1807.<\/p>\n

Kuma’s replacement was originally set to be carved from stone, but the final design used concrete, cast on-site using sand and aggregates sourced from the Loire river basin.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Centro<\/p>\n

Kengo Kuma & Associates adds sweeping canopy to Lisbon art centre\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“It liberates the structure from the heavy walls of cathedrals carved in stone, offering instead a lighter, monolithic presence,” said the studio.<\/p>\n

“This refined technique weaves a thread between past and present, lending the building a quiet contemporaneity rooted in the long continuum of architectural history.”<\/p>\n

\"AngersA series of arches punctuates the volume<\/p>\n

Kengo Kuma and Associates was founded by Kuma in Tokyo in 1990. Its other recent projects include a proposal for a ceramic-inspired residential skyscraper in Quito<\/a> and its design for a new wing for the National Gallery in London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Guillaume Amat<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arched\u00a0openings punctuate\u00a0the contemporary entrance of Angers Cathedral in France, recently completed by the studio of Japanese architect Kengo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7883,7884,5,7882,4454,4875,7885,7881],"class_list":["post-10174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-arches","tag-concrete","tag-france","tag-kengo-kuma","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-sectionnews","tag-worship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}