By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
(Note: this is the second article in a four-part series about the people, art, and architecture of my “Third Place,” the Utah Catholic parish church my wife and I have attended for three decades.)
During a 2022 interview about his long and distinguished career, a reporter asked architect Michael J. Stransky which project he was most proud of. Stransky chose the St. Thomas More Church in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
He called it a “landmark project for the Catholic Church” and “an aggressive look at what a church could be.” Of course, as the chief architect on the project, he’s biased, but he’s also right.
The Church has won numerous architectural awards, most recently in 2019 from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as a building “that has stood the test of time” and “continues to set standards of excellence” for its “design and significance.”
How does something wonderful like that happen?
Well, it takes hard work as well as innovative contextual design and construction. Some great art by local artisans does not hurt either.
But it all starts with vision and visionaries. St. Thomas More Church was blessed to have two of them—Stransky and the pastor/priest who built the church, Fr. Terry Moore.
Born shortly after World War II ended, Stransky grew up in Wyoming. Although he is color blind, his family encouraged him to take up architecture because he loved to build things.
He took their advice and beginning in 1964 went to the University of Utah to study the subject that soon would become his lifelong vocation. After a short stint in the U.S. Army, Stransky returned to Utah and joined a Salt Lake City firm of architects and designers.
During the next four decades at Gillies Stransky Brems Smith (today known as GSBS), he would work on over 800 projects and rise to elected leadership in the national AIA. (The previous Utah architect so elected was the man who designed and built the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville.)
As a longtime parishioner at Salt Lake City’s Cathedral of the Madeleine, Stransky knew all about lovely traditional church architecture. He also was open to doing something different, and got the chance when chosen as architect for the new St. Thomas More Church in the early 1990s.
Stransky worked closely with Fr. Terry Moore on the project. Moore was born in Ireland in 1943 and came to minister in Utah in 1967 right after his ordination. He quickly developed a reputation as a kind and devoted pastor with a deep commitment to social justice.
And yet one of his bosses—Bishop William K. Weigand—also must have detected in Moore a latent skill for church design and building. In 1985, Weigand appointed Moore as pastor of the fledgling St. Thomas More parish, which just happened to need a new church.
Stransky and Moore proved to be the perfect match for the project.
Success did not come easily. In fact, Stransky has said it “was a big struggle to get” the church built. Some on the committee-in-charge preferred a more traditional approach than what the architect or pastor proposed.
Fortunately, as Stransky told The Intermountain Catholic in 2019, “The design team helped them understand that a different building would better complement the site.” Moore concurred.
The priest told The Salt Lake Tribune in 1994 that he wanted his parishioners to see the glorious nearby mountains “from anywhere in the sanctuary.” He added, “We wanted lots of light, natural materials, and simplicity throughout. We eschewed the ornate and there are no shrines to compete with the focus on the altar.”
The result, according to Stransky, is a “celebration of light and the view and the place where this church was built.” Legendary Salt Lake Tribune columnist Jack Goodman sketched the remarkable building for his column in August 1993 and called it “radical” as well as “a fresh architectural look.”
Indeed, the AIA has called the church “an elegant expression of its time and place…A memorable space.” Another manager on the project has described the building as “magical…an opportunity to view nature in all its glory.”
In addition to constructing a beautiful and unique building, Moore and Stransky also had the great vision to find and hire an amazing collection of local artists and artisans to design and install the interior features of the church, including the altar, stained glass elements, and other decor.
Stransky has said, “There’s no place in the world that has the art like you’ll see in that church.” Once again, as the chief architect on the project, he is biased…and right.
My next couple of posts will discuss that lovely art, and the fascinating artists who created it. Here’s a look back and ahead:
August 5, 2024: Third Place: People, Art, Architecture (the church becomes a “third place” for my family and me, thanks to people, art, and architecture.)
August 19, 2024: My Third Place: The Woodcarver and the Blacksmith (how the church’s stunning woodwork and granite anchor altar came to be, thanks to the deft and powerful touches of two local artisans.)
August 26, 2024: My Third Place: Not Your Average Statues or Stained Glass (the story of Utah immigrant women who crafted unusual statuary and stained glass with their uncommon artistic eye.)
*Mike O’Brien (author website here) is a writer and attorney living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Paraclete Press published his book Monastery Mornings, about growing up with the monks at the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah, in August 2021. The League of Utah Writers chose it as the best non-fiction book of 2022.
