Visited November 2019.

The Church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes (Iglesia de Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes) is a Roman Catholic church located in Estación Atlántida, around 50 km east from central Montevideo. Most buses from Montevideo bus station (Terminal Tres Cruces or Terminal Rio Branco) heading towards Maldonado/Punta del Este will drop you at the crossroads simply called Atlántida. To get to the church you have to walk 3 km north or wait for a local transportation (the stop is on the road named after Eladio Dieste) between Estación Atlántida and Atlántida Playa Brava. Although the church itself is not very big, it is seen from the road when you approach.

The church is composed of three separate elements: the church itself, the triangular entrance to the underground baptistery to the left of the door of the church, and the round bell tower on the right side to the church; from the street it looks rather like a warehouse, only the crosses (not very big) by the main door and on top of the bell tower remind you it is a religious building.

Built in 1958-1960, totally in bricks, it shows the flexibility of this material and is a symbol of post-modernist approach to architecture, called sometimes Brick Expressionism. In “A Global History of Architecture” by Chiang, Jarzombek and Vikramadotya, it is called “a simple rectangle with side walls rising up in undulating curves to the maximum amplitude of their arcs”.

The waving walls and the roof were built without any columns. The church is open only during Sunday morning service, but we asked the teacher form the school which is located close by to call somebody who cares about the church; after few minutes a lady came to open it and give us some information about the building and catholic community in the area. The interior of the church is pretty dark, ‘cos it lit only by light coming in through small irregular coloured glass windows on the sides and the kind of opening on the façade, filled with marble blocks. There’s no ornamentation inside and the altar is a single piece of boulder. The chorus is located above the entrance. The first impression – it looks like a cave church.

It is so original building that makes you think about the role and possibilities building material can offer you and your imagination. It is a piece masterpiece of engineering. Eladio Dieste called this church “my first architectural experience”. Among others of his works there are: Montevideo Shopping Mall, Deposito Julio Herrera in Montevideo Port, his house in the eastern suburb of Montevideo (for sale now!) and Church of St. John of Avila in Alcala de Heneras, Spain.