Brutal Breuer | Jason R Woods | Architectural Photography

Detail of Saint Francis de Sales Church in Norton Shores, Michigan by Marcel Breuer. Photo by Jason R. Woods.

As mentioned in a previous post, Marcel Breuer’s Saint Francis de Sales Church in Norton Shores, Michigan was my introduction to true Brutalist architecture. Since that pivotal day, I’ve become infatuated with the style and have been itching to return to the building that started it all. The weather in Michigan is becoming more Spring-like by the day, and that means more opportunities to get out and make pictures.

Balthazar Korab, Michigan’s most prolific architectural photographer, was known for revisiting places to photograph them under different lighting and weather conditions to give viewers a more complete understanding of place and mood. Since Korab photographed Saint Francis when it was first completed in 1966, I figured this would be a good project to revisit for myself. This time, I was able to explore the exterior more and fully appreciate the contours that reveal themselves as your move around the massive structure (rain prevented that during my first visit).