JOURNAL OF
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
VOL. 12 / NO. 3

IN MEMORIAM: WILLIAM WESLEY PETERS'
ASCENSION LUTHERAN CHURCH

40 pages :: Essays by Elizabeth Al-Hazzam Dawsari and Joan Clark

In early 2024 OA+D received an unusual donor request: save what you can of Ascension Lutheran Church before demolition to make way for new luxury homes. Efforts to save or repurpose the iconic 1961 church designed by Taliesin Architect William Wesley Peters had failed and a deadline was set for demolition plans to begin. OA+D responded with a series of visits, meetings with congregation leaders, and ultimately two days worth of careful deconstruction and removal of original design elements. Although important materials from the building were saved, the loss of this unique design merits deeper discussion.

This publication is a memorial to this lost work of organic architecture: its origins, the ideas behind its design, how it ultimately came to be built, and finally destroyed. Includes vintage construction photos, drawings, plans, and photo documentation of the building's exterior and interior features prior to its demolition. A final portfolio of photos documents OA+D's efforts to preserve what was possible from the building as a way to hopefully inform and inspire others to avoid losses like this in the future.

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