November 3 - December 8, 2000
"The design of a house of worship ... comes closer to being pure art, defined as an expression of the human spirit, than almost any other field of architecture ... In a church practical considerations are important but not paramount; what is paramount is the quality and drama of the space it contains. It is as a visual art, therefore, that church architecture more than other types mirrors a civilization and its religious climate."

- PIETRO BELLUSCHI

The exhibition of Pietro Belluschi's late church designs was organized in response to requests by several colleges and organizations to exhibit his works. The continuity between his first church design, St. Thomas More Catholic Church and his last churches from the 1980's, is made visible by his restraint, simplicity, careful selection of materials, and exceptional ability to design meaningful forms in response to a variety of liturgical needs. He was always particularly fond of his church designs.

Born in Ancona, Italy, in 1899, and educated in engineering in Rome and at Cornell University, he moved to Portland in 1925 and joined the firm of A.E. Doyle. He became the company's leading designer in 1927. His career had three major stages, beginning with his designs for houses and churches which, in materials, form and siting, were sensitive to the surroundings of the region and later became known as representing the Northwest Style. He became the leading and most prolific architect in Portland, known for his timeless desgin of Portland's Art museum, and for the modernist Equitable Building, among many other commercial structures in the growing city.

Belluschi's second stage began in 1951 when he was asked to become the Dean of Architecture and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thus beginning an international career as an educator, collaborator, and architectural consultant. In 1973 he began the third stage when he returned to Portland and continued to consult, lecture, and design.

During the 1980's, he continued to work with clergy, congregations and church building committees who sought his exceptional response and sensitivity in designing places of worship. For more than twenty years after his return to Portland, Belluschi had a sole practice. He enjoyed a close collaboration with Yost Grube Hall Architecture in bringing his late church designs to realization.

In 1972, Pietro Belluschi was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects for lifetime achievement. In 1991, President George Bush awarded Belluschi the National Medal of Arts, in a ceremony in the White House. Pietro Belluschi died in February, 1994.

In addition to the recent gift of renderings and drawings to the Belluschi Papers at the University of Oregon Library Special Collections by Marjorie Belluschi, the legacy of Pietro Belluschi is felt at the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. In 1993, the Belluschi Endowment established a Visiting Distinguished Professor appointment for a prominent architect to teach and lecture in the Department of Architecture.

Many of the selected drawings in the exhibition give the viewer insight into Belluschi's design proces. He would begin with a basic concept and then work through several stages, making detailed revision drawings, sometimes for several days in a row. Often, formal aspects of the original concept were retained, and are still visible in the final drawings. Utilizing ink, lead or colored pencils, each drawing is a work of art in itself, revealing his determination to arrive at the best solution possible for each parish community, and his genius in interpreting their spiritual needs in beautifully crafted spaces.