ABSTRACT
J. Eugene Wukasch (1921–2001) was a Lutheran architect at the forefront of modern church architecture in Texas during the denomination’s widespread early adoption of modern architecture. This chapter illustrates fundamental principles that mid-century church-building shared with its contemporary liturgical movements through an examination of Wukasch’s works between 1950 and 1970. Aspects of his architectural designs revived the Lutheran Church’s common heritage through modern design elements: ancient spatial arrangements realized through a variety of innovative structural systems, distinct luminous chancels with simple free-standing altars, and the integration of artworks. Just as the renewed liturgies looked to traditional sources, Wukasch’s new forms of art and architecture were an architectural ressourcement. His innovative designs drew on the past to emphasize the centrality of sacrament in worship. Wukasch’s work demonstrates how architectural change and national collaboration helped construct a new American Lutheran identity.
