"Saint John’s Abbey Church, Collegeville 5/24/18" by Sharon Mollerus is licensed under CC BY 2.0
It’s easy to get lost in the unusual forms of Saint John’s Abbey Church. Common among Brutalist architecture, it is large and imposing, and also a bit reminiscent of a scoreboard.
In 1950, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak contacted twelve architects, requesting an “architectural monument” that would “be valid for centuries to come.”
The committee selected Marcel Breuer. His landmark building is credited by art historians as being a milestone in Catholic Church architecture in America.
Breuer received his architectural training at the renowned Bauhaus school in Germany. Interestingly, he began his career with furniture design. He later transitioned into architecture and became one of the leading contributors to the Brutalist movement.
The heavy concrete forms are made from cast as well as steel-reinforced concrete. The frames were constructed by local carpenters and the concrete inside the Church still bears an impression of the wood.
The tall “Bell Banner” you see in the photo is 110 feet high and 100 feet wide. It is the tallest structure on the campus. It holds 5 bells, the largest of which weighs a hefty 8,000 pounds.
Behind the Banner is the main entrance. The facade of which is composed of stained glass and concrete. A team of monks, faculty, students, and volunteers put together the stained glass window in the abbey’s old dairy barns. When the Church was completed in 1961 it was one of the largest stained glass windows in the world. Architecturally sound and also symbolic, the honeycomb pattern’s strength lies in the fact that each piece supports its neighbors.
"Saint John’s Abbey Church, Collegeville 5/24/18" by Sharon Mollerus is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Inside the Church is a 12th-century statue of the Virgin Mary which was carved from a single piece of walnut. Below the main floor are 34 private chapels. No longer required, they once were necessary for the large number of monastics to hold their daily Masses.
Atypical but not outdated, this iconic building remains relevant today thanks to the vision of Dworschak and Breuer.
Discover more bizarre Brutalist architecture here or enjoy another crazy building here!
