Architectural Modernity and Community Liturgy

The Case of Sant Sebastià del Verdum in Nou Barris, Barcelona

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17979/aarc.2025.12.12690

Keywords:

modern sacred architecture, MBM, Sant Sebastià, Verdum, Barcelona

Abstract

This article analyses the Sant Sebastià del Verdum parish in Barcelona as a unique example of religious architecture within canonical modernity. Based on unpublished documentation and archival sources, it examines three key moments: the provisional church (1959), the definitive church (1968), and the urban and social context in which both were embedded. Designed by the MBM team (Martorell, Bohigas, Mackay), both buildings reflect principles of the Modern Movement. The final church also responds to the liturgical directives of the Second Vatican Council. The article offers an architectural and social reading of these spaces, where aesthetic vision, technical commitment, and attention to the spiritual and communal needs of a newly settled working-class population converge. Sant Sebastià stands as a paradigmatic case of modern sacred architecture that contributed to urban structure and fostered strong community cohesion.

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Author Biography

  • Alba Arboix-Alió , University of Barcelona (Spain)

    She holds an architectural degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (2011). She received the FPI-UPC scholarship to pursue her master's and doctoral studies. She holds a master's degree in Theory and Practice of Architectural Design (2012) and a PhD in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia with her thesis "Church and City. The Role of Parish Churches in the Construction of Barcelona" (2016). She has been a teaching assistant in the Department of Architectural Design at the Barcelona School of Architecture since 2012. She is a member of the Habitar-UPC Research Group and collaborates with the Forma Urbis Lab Research Group at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon.

References

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Arboix-Alió, Alba. 2016. «Església i Ciutat: el Paper dels Temples Parroquials en la Construcció de Barcelona». Barcelona: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. http://hdl.handle.net/2117/96263.

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San Sebastià del Verdum

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Published

2025-10-28

Issue

Vol. 12 (2025): Aacred Architecture of Canonical Modernity: References

Section

Papers

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Copyright (c) 2025 Actas de Arquitectura Religiosa Contemporánea

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How to Cite

Architectural Modernity and Community Liturgy: The Case of Sant Sebastià del Verdum in Nou Barris, Barcelona. (2025). Actas de Arquitectura Religiosa Contemporánea, 12, 2-15. https://doi.org/10.17979/aarc.2025.12.12690