GUEST HOUSE, SAINT JOHN'S ABBEY
Location: Collegeville, Minnesota
Awards:
AIA Housing Award, 2009
AIA MN Honor Award, 2008
AIA MN Honor Award, 2007
In the 1950s, Marcel Breuer began his master plan for Saint John's Abbey and University. Breuer designed ten buildings for the monastic community over twenty years that were constructed largely of cast-in-place concrete. The majority of the projects were completed, but an important part of Breuer's master plan, the Abbey Guesthouse, was never designed. While respecting Breuer's work, the Abbey also requested that the new guesthouse also provide visitors with a direct experience of monastic life. Guest retreatants follow the same daily rhythms of study, work and meditation. The facility includes conference and meeting areas, a library, a meditation room, dining facilities, and administrative offices with thirty guest rooms.