St. Louis Abbey (or the Priory Chapel)

Gyo Obata of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) with Pier Luigi Nervi, consultant
1962



Distant view

The Japanese American architect's design was modified by the consulting engineer-architect, Pier Luigi Nervi, who pioneered the use of thin-shell reinforced concrete. (See Index for additional works by Nervi.) Here the parabolic arches soar upward. The cross-capped bell-tower continues the upward movement.
 

The entrance and bell-tower

 

Views of the interior

Emil Frei, a stained-glass artist, and sculptor William Schickel collaborated on interior ornament and liturgical furniture. Frei designed the screen of laminated glass (below, left) and Schickel designed the processional cross, the lectern, and the font.
 

The ambulatory with "side chapels"

Each of the twenty identical arches encloses an intimate space with a small altar, each with a crucifix designed by a different artist.



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© 2003 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.

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