Massimo and Lella Vignelli's basic design belief is that "design is one."
They believe in discipline as the pursuit of structural integrity,
appropriateness as the search for the specific, and ambiguity as a plurality of
meanings. The Vignelli's have adopted a privileged approach that makes
everything coherent and linear. Their intended effect can be achieved by a
square or a circle, by a material or a color, by a typeface or a position, by a
picture or a dimension.
The inventiveness of the Vignelli's is also
demonstrated in their choice for colors for communicational surface, from
posters to calendars, book jackets to subway maps, and wall to street signs.
Taken together, Vignelli's work demonstrates a remarkable diversity of
approaches to subject matter as well as the aesthetic passion with which it is
charged. Their specific power to know what can be resolved enables them to
liberate ideas, and to give them form and shape with notable originality. The
Vignelli's have a singular place in the design profession, and they have helped
to define its role in contemporary society.
"Interior design has long been a core activity for the Vignelli's, bringing together Lella's European architectural training and her unique perception of form and color with Massimo's disciplined and ordered spatial sensibility, based on surface texture, light, and refined proportions. Their work is highlighted by exceptional commissions, including the interior and furnishings of Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, a project that revealed the rational poetry of the Vignelli's approach to a highly charged symbolic space."
David Revere McFadden
Curator of Decorative
Arts
Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York
"The Vignelli's never add anything when creating: rather, they remove, they subtract. For them, image and object exist once the designer backs off, forsaking his ego and emitting a sort of energy field that brings forth a figure, a typeface, or a table. Therein lies the secret: the designer must withdraw and restrain himself, leaving maximum room for experiments with form, color, volume and materials. Lella and Massimo Vignelli have based their design and architecture on faith in a new aesthetic, one that can move comfortably within the history of visual and sculptural thinking, yet has the power to fulfill present-day needs with new ideas and interpretations."
Germano Celant
Curator of Contemporary Art
Guggenheim
Museum, New York
Drawing on our long Christian tradition and Lutheran heritage, the primary purpose of Saint Peter's church is to let us worship God in a variety of ways. Here we express that worship through an ever wider range of endeavors which translate theology and faith into action.
The interior invites us in, down and up, placing us in a paradox - in the earth but heavenward, protected while open to the light, human while grand and elevated with a sense of both the cosmos and the womb - a womb of rebirth. It is a place of resurrection where we are born in a new spirit. When the environment outside is a dark cave of reflected shadows reminding us of our disintegration, Saint Peter's calls us into a resplendent sanctuary of God's love.
The floor and baptismal font are of Caledonia granite. The sanctuary is a flexible space allowing for a great variety of expressions of worship, through song, dance, sermon, music and poetry. The pews, organ, altar, and pulpit are of red oak. The baptismal font at the entrance to the sanctuary , with its sight and sound of living, running water, is a constant reminder of our own baptism as our entry into the Christian life.
"The interior program for Saint Peter's Church required
a high degree of flexibility. Beyond its normal liturgical functions, the church
doubles as a concert hall, theater and conference hall. The diagonal light shaft
of the building determined the 45-degree rotation of the square plan. Around the
perimeter we designed architectural steps that can open to provide additional
seating. A series of movable platforms can be positioned in several patterns and
levels according to the
needs of a particular service of event. For example, the
platforms can be integrated with the peripheral steps, or they can be moved to
the center of the church to serve as a support for the altar. The pulpit,
although movable, engages the steps, conveying a sense of permanence. The pews
relate to the traditional configuration of New England churches. We designed the
organ in collaboration with its maker. The clergy chairs have been designed to
accommodate the ceremonial vestments. We also designed the silver pieces for the
altar, as well as all the graphics for the church. It was a unique experience, a
total design concept for a place that was conceived not simply for a church, but
as a "moral space" for a variety of functions."
Massimo and Lella Vignelli