ALL ARE WELCOME Welcome to Christ Church Lutheran, an internationally recognized landmark of modern religious architecture. Designed in 1948 49 by Eliel and Eero Saarinen, it was the finest and most widely-known example of spiritual architecture in the U.S. at the beginning of the building boom for U.S. churches in the 1950s, inspiring countless congregations and architects to leave behind centuries of tradition by designing new churches in modern (i.e., non-historical) styles. The result of a visionary, inspired, poetic collaboration between a young minister, his congregation, and their father and son architect team, it stands today in its original form almost entirely free of alteration sixty years after its construction, due to the unflagging love, labor, and financial investment of its congregation. It is perhaps Eliel Saarinen s most important and successful building, which facilitated the emergence of modernist religious architecture during the second half of the 20th century. - Rolf Anderson Today s exhibit is the first significant display of the Church s architectural archives. In our three gallery spaces the church narthex, the green classroom, and the Luther Lounge you ll see the church s collection of design studies, correspondence, construction documents, artifacts and scrapbooks from the sixtyyear history of the Saarinen-designed church, as well as drawings of the German-Lutheran congregation s first church in 1913 and the World War II-era Gothic Revival designs that were set aside. The narthex exhibit focuses on history, influence, light and materiality. In the Green Room is a compilation of design renderings, construction details and photographs highlighting the custom furnishings designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen. Luther Lounge exhibit explores Saarinen s design process, through renderings and models, and the development of the unique solution for this site and Congregation. Thank you for joining us in celebrating the achievement of our Reaching New Heights fund-raising goal! We couldn t have done it without your support! Consider three reflections on the success of Christ Church Lutheran: A Modern Form for a Timeless Purpose I asked him (Saarinen) if it were possible in a materialistic age like ours to do something truly spiritual. He soon showed me. Pastor William Buege (from Rolf Anderson, National Register nomination) Light Visually... Saarinen conceived Christ Church as the setting against which the liturgical drama is unfolded.. Because he felt that nothing should compete with the visible rite for the attention of the worshiper, he has reduced the interior of the church to a background of unadorned simplicity, brought into brilliant focus by the use of lighting as a basic element of design. Hearing The Word And as acoustics are important to the apperception of both musical liturgy and sermon, the control of sound has been made the organizing factor through which most major and many minor elements of this church take their shape. From Albert Christ-Janer and Mary Mix Foley in Modern Church Architecture photograph courtesy of Peter J. Sieger Photography INTRODUCTION
Christ Church Lutheran was carefully designed to meet the needs of its congregation for a place of worship, a solemn place to hear the spoken word and for the singing of hymns. Genesis of Christ Church Lutheran 1911 Congregation established. Rented a space in nearby church 1913 Purchased two lots at 31st Ave & 34th Street 1914 First church/meeting hall, designed and constructed by George Myron Melcher, Architect. 1924 Purchased five city lots on NW corner of 34th Avenue & 33rd Street 1926 Moved the church by horses to current site of Education wing, leaving corner open for construction of Gothic Revival style church. 1929 Market Crash plans delayed 1914 FRONT ELEVATION 1939 Neo-Gothic design by Lang & Raugland. Construction estimates are $146,593 1941 U.S. enters World War II 1945 Pastor Deckman died (pastor since 1919) Design by Lang & Raugland estimates are now $194,570 1945 WWII ends 1946 Pastor Buege is hired. Design by Lang & Raugland estimates are now $367,000 (without stained glass, furnishings) 1948 April: Eliel Saarinen creates three schemes June: Design is completed September: Design is approved November: Groundbreaking 1939 FRONT ELEVATION Saarinen accepted the challenge to build an honest church and refined the design to come in under budget. Cost $275,000. and $336,211.92 including furnishings 1949 Dec. 4: Dedication of Church 1950 Eliel dies at 77 yrs old. CCL is his last completed work. 1953 Lower Level completed as a separate project coat room, choir, robing rooms, nursery. 1956 Eero Saarinen is hired for education wing, arcade and courtyard. He supervises the work of his former employee Glen Paulson & Assoc. of Bloomfield Hills, MI 1962 Dedication of Education Wing Cost is $734,076, including furnishings 1947 FRONT ELEVATION IF A BUILDING IS HONEST, THE ARCHITECTURE IS RELIGIOUS. - Eliel Saarinen A CONGREGATION
Saarinen answered questions about the suitability of a Modern design for a religious building by saying: Our forefathers and we ourselves have been using the dead styles of alien cultures. We have combined them in thousands of different ways until the last drop of expressiveness has been squeezed out. National Historic Landmarks by Eliel & Eero Saarinen : 1940 Kleinhans Music Hall Buffalo, NY (NHL, 1989) 1940 The Crow Island School Winnetka, IL (NHL, 1990) 1941 First Christian Church Columbus, IN (NHL, 2001) 1940 s Cranbrook Educational Community Bloomfield Hills, MI (NHL, 1989) 1949/1956 Christ Church Lutheran Minneapolis, MN (NHL, 2009) Eliel Saarinen was among the most important architects and architectural educators of the twentieth century. Remarkably, the church complex also includes an addition designed in 1962 under the direction of Eliel Saarinen s son, Eero Saarinen, who was also one of the most acclaimed architects of the twentieth century. Eliel Saarinen s consistent, high-quality design work has been underscored through the designation of four of his other works as National Historic Landmarks. Immigrating from his native Finland to the United States in the 1920s, Saarinen was on the leading edge of the modernist movement and played a pivotal role in the emergence of modernist religious architecture in the United States. Historian and Saarinen biographer Albert Christ-Janer has observed that Christ Church is considered by many to be his masterwork. A MASTERWORK OF FATHER AND SON
WAS WIDELY PUBLISHED AND QUICKLY BECAME A DESIGN ICON AND A FUNCTIONAL MODEL FOR ARCHITECTURAL PRACTITIONERS AWARDS & PUBLICATIONS 1950 Architectural Forum Art, science, and faith achieve a serene harmony in this simple church... the Saarinens have demonstrated here that science and art may be perfectly, yet inexpensively wedded. 1951 Life magazine feature - example of modern religious architecture 1955 American Institute of Architects Annual Convention Architects from around the nation tour CCL 1955 Newsweek a trailblazer in the trend to design the 20th century U.S. church along the 20th century lines. 1956 American Council of Churches: voted best U.S. church since 1930 1st place, general architectural excellence 1977 AIA 25-year Award Art, science, and faith achieve a serene harmony in this church whose spirit and simplicity of form recall the early Christian era. A living symbol of architectural integrity, it has provided inspiration and guidance to countless architects. 2001 National Register of Historic Places - only Minnesota structure so honored that has been built in the last 70 years 2009 National Historic Landmark It is perhaps Eliel Saarinen s most important and successful building, which facilitated the emergence of modernist religious architecture during the second half of the 20th century. - Rolf Anderson A DESIGN ICON
Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation - James Turrell Light plays a primary role in our experience of Christ Church Lutheran. As it has in houses of worship for centuries, it symbolizes the divine. That role has been expressed with great care here, repeated in the three important ritual spaces in the church: the Chancel, the Chapel, and the Baptistry. In each space, light is treated in the same way. An extending brick wall catches the light, which is filtered through translucent glass and reflected by the brick wall into the space. It is the softly illuminated expanse of brick that fills the space with light. Metaphorically it might seem we are bathed in the light of an illumined world (through the immanence of the divine) rather than the directed, and sometimes harsh glare of a singular source. Its ever-changing character is made manifest through light s play on simple, quiet surfaces that are oriented and shaped to show its many moods. Our perception of light is choreographed to enhance our procession through the four parts of the Lutheran liturgy: Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending. Chancel Chapel Baptistry Light is used not to illuminate decorative symbolic objects (as did traditional stained glass) but to simply be itself, light. And windows, as the source of light, are hidden from view so we focus on the phenomena itself rather than the physical object that is merely its means of entry. But light is far more than a symbol here. It is used to enhance our appreciation of the nature of the materials brick, wood, stone, metal from which the church was made. Light softly reflected off the interior surfaces enhances the warm colors that are so important to the church s meditative atmosphere. Note the difference in natural light quality in a traditional Gothic church of intense color, light and deep shadow. photographic images courtesy of Peter J. Sieger Photography SACRED LIGHT
Chancel screen: Screens exterior views and the source of the light, enhancing our experience of the spiritual, ethereal, and inspirational nature of light Uses subtle variations in scale and orientation to tesselate the light in a continuously changing mosaic of color. Brick, interior Each unit, velvet in texture, reflects light at a scale and rhythm that speaks to its tectonic craft. As a whole, the wall reflects light in a composition of warm, earthly hues, evoking references to the clay and firing of its manufacture. The whitewashing of the Chancel wall reduces the contrast of the individual bricks, transforming the curved wall into an infinite glow. Chancel Cross A simple aluminum prism reflects light in a graceful collage of grey. The natural specularity challenges its visual weight, at once appearing strong yet ethereal. Piscina, Spoon Lights, Baptismal Font, Each of these sculptural forms are crafted preciously in softly reflective finishes. The light is diffused gracefully across the surfaces, each object a jewel within the space. Piers The piers, chiseled for sound, march in a diurnal rhythm of shade and shadow. In a sophisticated dance of hide-and-seek, these angled planes appear to collapse and part as one moves about the Sanctuary, initially focusing the viewer on the Chancel, then releasing one s view into a bath of light during the exit procession. Architecture becomes churchly by providing an atmosphere of meditation, which is achieved largely through color and proportion - Eliel Saarinen photographic images courtesy of Peter J. Sieger Photography SACRED LIGHT
The challenge for modern church design was the need to search for an ecclesiastical architecture that would avail itself of modern materials and construction methods and that honestly reflect their use, but at the same time express spiritual qualities. Rolf Anderson BRICK Chancel wall: Individual qualities of each brick, as well as collective form of bricks in a wall, are heightened by indirect light Flat walls are simple and calming, but also much less expensive to build than those with complex patterns. Simple brick walls were subdivided to contrast with adjacent elements of greater visual texture. STONE Floor material (Winona dolomitic limestone) is similar in color and character to Kasota limestone used on vertical surfaces, but harder. Both are local materials. Stone used to pave important places (main aisle, chancel, chapel) but concrete used among the pews to reduce cost. Hard, smooth reflective floor is opposite absorptive ceiling. Altars are Italian travertine, a soft white color that takes a high shine but retains texture (similar to Winona dolomite used for floor) WOOD Wood paneling is warm in color and feel, and is used where people come in contact with the building by visual or tactile texture. Wood screen louvers are positioned to allow light to warmly illuminate the material Irregular but harmonious patterning in screen louvers, organ screen, chapel wall paneling Pews designed to be comfortable without cushions (cushions would absorb sound and disturb acoustics) Furniture is all Saarinen design METAL Aluminum is a relatively inexpensive metal that is easily cast and extruded, with a soft luster that is appropriate for the soft color and light of the church Simple crosses and candle holders of silver-plated aluminum adorn the altar. MATERIALITY
Aluminum crosses Aluminum is a relatively inexpensive metal that is easily cast and extruded, with a soft luster that is appropriate for the soft color and light of the church The diamond cross section reflects light in constantly changing variety of silver and gray colors Candelabra Simple cross and candle holders of silver-plated aluminum adorn the altar. Cross and candelabra repeat diamond cross-section used in chancel cross, but use curve at major joints. Spoon Lights Soft rounded shapes embodies flow of water Baptismal Font Steps below the floor level, it symbolizes the ancient custom of stepping down into a stream. The font is a shallow bowl of silver-plated aluminum, 30 dia. 8 ebony legs symbolize the eight persons who were saved on Noah s Ark, as the Biblical flood symbolizes baptism, a washing away of the old, sinful nature of man. The font, in accordance with centuries-old tradition, drains directly into the earth as does the piscina, a bowl mounted on the chancel wall to receive any wine left in the chalice after Communion. Piscina: Soft rounded shape embodies flow of water. Its shape mirrors baptismal font, material matches other sacred objects Glass Patterned glass allows light in but not distracting views Thin or hidden frames allow glass to be expressed as a thin permeable membrane rather than a barrier covering a hole in a wall. Transite ceiling Fireproof, perforated fiber cement tiles are used as grille over forced air plenums Light color and slanted surfaces help reflect light into nave Qualities distinguished Saarinen s work from that of many of his fellow modernists. Through his adept use of materials, proportion, scale, and light, with Christ Church Lutheran he created a building having great dramatic effect and architectural impact, yet one that also retained a human scale and possessed a feeling of serenity and repose. - Rolf Anderson DETAILS
The collection of sepia print and pencil renderings show the development of the major massing and interior elements during the Spring of 1948. Compare current photographs of same views with, Original blueline plans and elevations Colored pen renderings of the Education Wing Current and historic photographs of the Luther Lounge shown in the context of the room itself Refinements from First Christian Church include: Scale of massing and landscape for residential context and limited budget. All elements in First Christian chancel have (in Christ Church design) been moved to rear of nave: organ console and pipes, choir, decorative screen Entry sequence emphasizes unity of whole. Gathering in light-filled space, enables Chapel space to be dualpurpose (as chapel and overflow seating) Glass between nave and bell tower enables it to be perceived both as a campanile and as a steeple. This allows light to pour into view during the Sending part of liturgy. Chancel light and screen Light fixtures: curved cross-section echoes other similar curves throughout; forms on south wall are balanced with rectilinear patterning on north wall Steel skeleton is hidden and not expressed, in favor of a more abstract illusion of load-bearing masonry walls. Simple, evocative cross used instead of a realistic and therefore less evocative Christ figure Small, square, bright, punched window openings replaced with strips of hidden, obscured glass that allow broad washes of light across surfaces Sculpted stone pattern on façade and at sides of nave replaced with more serene (and less expensive) flattened plane, though even simplified stonework contains a subtle, quietly dynamic pattern. Symbols on brick interior walls (crosses and chi-rho symbol) eliminated as unnecessary decoration Three crosses on south exterior wall recall our symbolic union with Christ in crucifixion, through the characters of the two thieves. Two dimensional patterns of the crosses imply three dimensions through their arrangement. Faceted brick planes on north clerestory wall help distribute light and sound, as well as provide counterpoint to simple south wall with curved sconces casting curved pools of light. Design evolved from work on First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana. Compare refinements with First Christian Church and alternate schemes illustrated in renderings. DESIGN PROCESS
In the spring of 1948, Saarinen provided the congregation with three schemes and along with them, an education in honest religious architecture. Pastor Buege described the entire design process as an education, with Saarinen teaching him and, through him, the congregation. The challenge that Buege had posed to his architect to create a truly spiritual church for Lutherans in the midst of a materialistic age was now being answered. Buege preferred the simplest of the three schemes and after long discussions, the congregational vote settled the matter. As the architects developed the chosen scheme further on its way to construction drawings, the entire composition was refined, simplified, distilled, and unified massing, proportion, space, color, pattern, materials, meaning, feeling, light, acoustics, mechanical systems, budget constraints, liturgy, atmosphere, circulation into a seamless whole far greater than the mere sum of its parts. If the real meaning in art is not found in the what but, rather, in the how, the same is certainly true of great works of architecture like Christ Church Lutheran. DESIGN PROCESS b7s9