Built in 1942, the First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana) is the home of a non-denomiational congregation in Columbus IN. Eliel Saarinen designed it, with help from his son Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames. This collaboration reflects the philosophy advocated at Eliel’s Cranbrook Academy of Art. One of the first Modernist church designs in the US, it’s the first Modernist building in Columbus, IN, and set the stage for the town to become an architectural showcase.
For me, I appreciate how the design’s asymmetry provides a tension that keeps the rectilinear buildings from being too staid & boring. Just on the façade in the images below, if both the clock and cross/entrance were centered how less remarkable that would make these structures.
And that asymmetry carries through to the interior. The center aisle and the cross do not align with each other, but neither lie in the center of the space: the pews on the west (the side with the windows) side are shorter than those on the east. Only one side of the sanctuary has windows. And in the chancel space at the end, the ceiling-height wooden screen that hides the organ pipes sits at an angle to its opposing wall, where the tapestry hangs.
This balanced imbalance keeps one’s focus where it should be — towards the south end of the sanctuary where the action is. Looking in the opposite direction, towards the back, the balcony is an all symmetrical and a much less interesting space.
The wood adds a needed warmth to the monochromatic surfaces, reflecting Eliel’s and Cranbrook’s preference for a modernism that emphasized craftsmanship and natural materials. The pews have a solid but abstracted design. And the large tapestry, “The Sermon on the Mount,” was designed by Eliel and Loja Saarinen and woven in Loja’s workshop at Cranbrook.
Outside there’s a sunken courtyard eight feet below street level. The reflecting pool down there, alas, had maintenance issues and was filled in in the early 1960s. The First Christian Church is a classic example of the balance that can be struck between simple forms and asymmetry.
The church is not generally open to the public, but the Iconic Columbus Walking Tour (Columbus, Indiana Architecture Tours) stops inside.
