Our Lady of Loreto Parish
Foxfield, CO
David Tryba, FAIA, is an architect who is thoughtful about man’s connection to nature. “I think there’s a human force in all of us that is compelled to create and attempts to echo the beauty of nature, to touch something eternal. If you look at the history of architecture, man has attempted to build mountains through his pyramids; he’s constructed gothic cathedrals that mimicked the structure of magnificent forests. It’s that dialogue between the human and the natural worlds that I find so exciting.” That’s why it’s fitting that Tryba’s 30-person firm designed the newest parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver. Intended to last for eternity — or at least 300 years — the church features thick, textured concrete masonry walls and a series of step-backs that emphasize the sturdiness of the structure while allowing light to enter and cast shadows on the openings. Three large concrete block arched openings represent the Trinity. The exterior is accented with precast concrete copings, copper gutters and downspouts, and a red clay tile roof. The interior walls are made of exposed concrete block to match the exterior. All of the masonry and wood elements combine to create an inspiring, warm sanctuary for quiet thought and prayer. Maybe it’s because he spent the first 15 years of his practice focused on historic preservation that Tryba uses masonry on almost every building he designs. “There’s nothing in any other material that has the immediate connection to the human scale than a piece of stone, brick or block. Masonry requires the human hand. Inherent in every masonry building is that human art, that human aspiration and that human touch, which can’t be fabricated.”