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St. John’s Abbey Church by Marcel Breuer

The master plan for this Benedictine Community provides for replacing most of the 22 existing buildings with new and expanded facilities. This will be done step-by-step, one building at a time. To achieve this, a system of shadow planning was developed, whereby the new building, or wing, is placed in the shadow of the old, which is then demolished. The six-stage-transformation of the Community’s central quadrangle is illustrated at left.

The plan aims at a clear separation between the monastic living quarters and the educational units. The two are connected by the important structures they both share—church, auditorium, library, and administration building.

The church and its bell banner are the dominant structures of St. John’s. The main floor plan reflects the basic liturgical concepts of the Order: one enters the symbolic center doorway, down the center aisle to the altar and abbot’s throne, around which is placed the very large choir for 300. The relation of abbot’s throne and monks’ choir to the congregation of 1,700 defines the shape of the plan with the altar near the center of the church in plain view of congregation, choir, and large balcony.

—from Cranston Jones, captions and introduction. Marcel Breuer: Buildings and Projects 1921-1961. p36