St. John Vianney

In late 2007, Ethan Anthony AIA and Cram and Ferguson Architects were selected to design a new 1500-seat Gothic church for the parish of St. John Vianney on a 53-acre site in Fishers, Indiana- a rapidly growing suburb of Indianapolis. krM's Stuart Godfrey, designed an elementary and middle school for the parish, and the firms shared the development of their respective parts of the site.
Work began in late 2007, with the design of the Church and Parish buildings, including a 17,000 Square Foot Parish Life Center, a rectory, and a convent, all clustered around the church on the suburban site in Fishers.
The church was located on the site by Father Dudzinski for its visibility from the road that fronts the land.Ethan Anthony AIA, planned the church as the center of the development with all other development growing along horizontal and vertical cruciform axes generated by the church.
From the church we established a major east west axis that brings entering traffic directly to the entrance of the church giving full effect to the powerful West Front which is based loosely on themes from the medieval French Gothic masterpieces of Rhiems, Laons and Notre Dame de Paris. A second major North-South axis is established from the entry leading north to the elementary school along a walking corridor which terminated at the playing field area with a devotional area. The site plan maintains an automobile free inner precinct keeping auto circulation for the Parish buildings to an outer perimeter road.
The church itself is oriented correctly along the East-West axis with the altar facing East in accordance with timeless Christian tradition and liturgy. The church rises 55 feet to the eave line with twin bell towers rising to 125 feet at the top of the crosses that terminate them. The massive cruciform roof symbolizes the body of Christ and also one body of the church with a head arms and torso through which one finds the way from baptism to the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration at the altar.
The Gothic style is expressive of many liturgical ideas, from the expression of the trinity in the three portals of the western entrance; itself an expression of the Gate to the City of Heaven, the entrance to the Holy Jerusalem, with pointed arches at the windows and doors throughout the building. Thick masonry walls fitted with functional pinnacles and buttresses express the power of the wall construction: all contribute to a feeling of massiveness, majesty, and permanence.