Église Saint-Louis de Vincennes

The Church of Saint-Louis stands as a bold, early twentieth-century vision of what a modern house of worship could be. Architects Jacques Droz and Joseph Marrast won a design competition for the building in nineteen twelve, intending to move past traditional stone masonry in favor of the era's cutting-edge material, reinforced concrete. While the outbreak of the First World War stalled progress shortly after construction began in nineteen fourteen, the church eventually opened its doors in nineteen twenty-four. Its design relies on two pairs of massive concrete arches that intersect at right angles, creating a wide, open interior space that breaks entirely from the compartmentalized floor plans of older parish churches.