Outings and excursions · Atlántida
Eladio Dieste's church in Estación Atlántida, a World Heritage Site
Photos: Andrés Franchi Ugart… / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Undulating walls and brick vaults without a single pillar: the Church of Christ the Worker, a few kilometres from Atlántida.
Very close to the resort of Atlántida, on the Costa de Oro in Canelones, the village of Estación Atlántida holds one of the most original works of architecture in the Americas: the Church of Christ the Worker, by Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste.
Brick that defies gravity
Built between 1958 and 1960, it is made entirely of brick and has no interior pillars: the weight is carried by undulating walls and curved vaults that seem to float. It is the emblematic example of reinforced ceramics, the technique Dieste developed and calculated by hand.
World Heritage
In 2021 UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List for its technical innovation and its modern reinterpretation of a traditional building type. It was the third Uruguayan site on the list, after the Historic Quarter of Colonia del Sacramento and the Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape.
How to combine it
The visit fits well into a day in Atlántida and the beaches of the Costa de Oro.
Tips
- It is a working church: respect services and check visiting hours.
- Afternoon light brings out the texture of the brick.
