Architects Confer Prize on Schuller

When you think about who would receive the American Institute of Architecture’s first lifetime achievement award, the name Robert H. Schuller probably isn’t a top guess. Or even second. Or third.

So why did the prestigious institute give the Crystal Cathedral founder its inaugural award?

“Good question,” said Norman Koonce, the institute’s chief executive officer. “Most people might think that’s not the logical place to look. But Robert Schuller has created a very impressive campus from an architectural aspect. His commitment to good architecture has been amazing.”

Schuller, 74, received his award Sunday during ceremonies tied to the groundbreaking for his latest project: a $20-million “possibility thinking” center designed by Getty Center architect Richard Meier.

“I had a well-informed client,” Meier said. “Oftentimes, when we do a project, the client doesn’t have the same experience and knowledge. Schuller enjoys it. He loves making things and making things work.”

Meier is the third world-acclaimed architect to design a building for the 40-acre Crystal Cathedral campus in Garden Grove. The late Richard Neutra--named by Time magazine as the second most influential architect of his generation, behind Frank Lloyd Wright--designed the Tower of Hope in 1969, and Philip Johnson--whose work includes the Seagram’s and AT&T; buildings in New York--designed the Crystal Cathedral in 1980.

“It’s not easy for a religious organization in today’s culture to set its sights on architecture excellence and achieve it,” Koonce said. “Schuller’s built, by design, places that inspire people.”

Schuller’s latest project, the five-level International Center for Possibility Thinking, will serve as an elaborate visitor’s center. Schuller said he wanted the more than half-million annual visitors to his campus to do more than just snap photos of the Crystal Cathedral, a towering building made of steel and more than 10,000 panes of glass.

The 58,000-square-foot facility will feature a reception area, gift store, food court, 300-seat theater and archive.

The centerpiece of the new facility, scheduled for completion in fall 2002, will be a museum designed to inspire visitors. The collection will include items from the Crystal Cathedral’s humble beginnings in a drive-in theater parking lot, including a section of the snack bar roof. The building will be laced with motivational slogans and will contain exhibits of famous people, such as civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who, as Schuller puts it, “turned their scars into stars.”

In the Dreamers Dedication Chapel, the inspired can write their dreams on a piece of paper and lay it on an altar.

“This building is going to be a sermon in steel and glass to: ‘If you can dream it, you can do it!’ ” Schuller said. “By the time they come through that building, they’ll be motivated to believe in themselves.”

The architectural genius of Schuller, Koonce said, is the pastor understands how quality architecture can affect the spirit.

“He sees the value of architecture and its value to the human experience,” Koonce said.

“It’s not easy, I’m sure, to raise and spend that much money [for the buildings]. But he had a goal to create an environment that would be conducive to the church’s success.”