St. Francis de Sales Church

St. Francis de Sales Church

Lawrence Technological University

March 25, 2015

Breuer, Marcel

Beckhard, Herbert

O’Connor, Thomas (photograph)

American

Single Built Works

August, 1967

Michigan (state)

Muskegon (inhabited place)

Modern (styles and periods)

churches (buildings)

Exterior view of St. Francis de Sales church in Muskegon, Michigan designed by Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard and completed in 1967. "The facade of the church, or "banner" as it is sometimes referred to, evolves from a simple trapezoidal plan, narrow at its base and widening as it rises some seventy-five feet in height. In the center of the vast gray expanse of the front wall is a bold cross set in relief. Above this, the church's bells are suspended between two concrete arms that cantilever out from the roof ridge. The gray concrete of the facade has a smooth finish created by the subtle texture of the grained surfaces of the wood forms. By contrast the deep ribbed finish of the hyperbolic paraboloid sidewalls was created by staggering the edges of regular boards that served as the formwork,"--Michigan Modern website.

concrete

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LTU-TO-537