Concrete and Color at St. John’s Abbey Church
Photograph and text by Morgan Sheff | May 19, 2022
View of the stained glass and the folded-plate-concrete side wall and ceiling from the freestanding balcony. Photo by Morgan Sheff.
POSTCARD
Marcel Breuer’s St. John’s Abbey Church (1961) in Collegeville, Minnesota, is as close to a perfect architectural photography experience as it gets. Seeing the morning light define the angles and contours of the enormous concrete bell banner is awe-inspiring, and the interior presents countless photographic compositions with its endlessly fascinating, folded-plate-concrete side walls and cantilevered balcony. But for me, it all starts with the immense wall of honeycomb-patterned stained glass. I love the combination of the raw, board-formed concrete and the diffuse light transmitted through the colorful glass.
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