St. Stephen’s United Church — 1962

St. Stephens United Church, Edmonton, James Dow

St. Stephens United Church, Edmonton, James Dow

10115 – 79 Street
(Now First Filipino Alliance Church) 

Designed by: Howard and Robert Bouey Architects
Original Owner: St. Stephen’s United Church

The St. Stephen’s United Church, similar to the Latter Day Saints Stake Centre, is an excellent example of International Style Modernism, particularly in the skillful massing of the building and its structural expression. The components of the church are easily read in the massing—the entry and support spaces are housed in the low, flat-roof volume while the sloping multi-storey portion contains the sanctuary, the most dynamic and well-developed space in the building.

Edmonton Archives EA-10-474

Edmonton Archives EA-10-474

The spire, located over the one storey section of the building seems to reach up to the sky attempting to unite the differing scales of the lower entry/service area and the multi-storey sanctuary. Within the sanctuary, a series of pre-cast concrete beams and columns support a tongue-and-groove exposed wood deck that adds richness to the interior of the sanctuary. The warmth of the wood deck is echoed in the wood cladding behind the altar and the wood benches. The Boueys also gave a nod to the history of churches by utilizing coloured exterior glass for the sanctuary space—a modern interpretation of the lead-framed glass of the past.

Left to right: Edmonton Archives EA-10-471, 470

Left to right: Edmonton Archives EA-10-471, 470

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