The Buildings
"Georgia's Most Remarkable Concrete Building"
That is the caption of a recently published article in The Georgia Contractor Magazine and in a special 50-year anniversary publication by the ACEC, "The History of Engineering in Georgia," a fitting tribute to a magnificent monastic building. The men who built this place have the distinction of being the builders of the only monastery built by its monks.
When visiting the monastery for the first time, one is visibly awed by the massive church seeing its thick concrete walls, tall columns, intricate stonework, and well shaped arches. Many people now come to visit this place drawn by the contemplative silence and beauty which speaks for itself. They capture the reflective nature of a Gothic building style that emphasizes a vertical reach upwards that suggests an aspiration to Heaven. They see the use of the large stained-glass windows that allow light to enter, transforming the blazing Georgia sun into rays of beautiful ethereal colors of glowing hues.
Our monastery grounds and buildings express the desire for directness in the clarity of line, in the unclutter: "the buildings are concrete with touches of brick, stone, and unfinished wood, everything free of decoration except the simple geometry of stained glass in the chapel."
"Some find our place austere. The purpose is freedom - for body and mind. Simplicity is flexible. It endures well. Without so many things around, we have more time."