Projects by Name

Breuer’s office began working on the comprehensive plan for Saint John’s Abbey and University Complex in May of 1953. Between 1967 and 1968, Breuer and his associate Robert Gatje designed a five building complex known as the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. The architects set the low, flat-roofed rectangular buildings into a hillside facing the Little Watab Lake. The buildings featured horizontal expanses of glazing set into brick walls and raised upon fieldstone bases. Breuer and Gatje placed building A at the center of the composition. It contained offices and bedrooms on either side of a chapel and living room with a freestanding fireplace. Building B was located directly behind building A but further away from the shoreline. Symmetrical living areas mirrored each other along a central axis. Both sides contained numerous bedrooms, a study and a large living/dining area. Buildings C and D flanked building A. They consisted of smaller residential pavilions separated by stone terraces but linked visually by low, stone walls. Building E, located behind building B, was a simple rectangle of three, brick walls. It’s fourth wall featured three glass doors.