Building Architecture

The Church of the Redeemer main building was designed by noted Northwest Modern architect Roland Terry.

Revised plan for Church of the Redeemer by Roland Terry.

According to a brochure produced by Docomomo WEWA, this building architecture has the following features:

Terry produced an original an unconventional design, one that combined elements derived from the agriculture vernacular and Asian precedents to achieve economy and rustic elegance….

The church demonstrated a spiritually-uplifting verticality, with proportions of the columns, siding and shoji-like windows being very tall and narrow. A key element of Terry’s solution was his use of pole framing, a structural system employed in vernacular farm structures requiring long spans and low costs (and Japanese Zen temples)….

Others have noted that the building bears some resemblance to a longhouse found in Coast Salish culture.

Remodelled interior at Church of the Redeemer

The building was dedicated on December 20, 1964.

Read a brochure from Docomomo WEWA (10.4 KB, PDF) about the building architecture at Church of the Redeemer. The brochure opens in a new window.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County. We welcome you be with us as we walk the way of Jesus.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.