Mr. Church

The Carlton Hills Lutheran Church in Santee, California was Des Laurier's first major commission after forming his own office. The church won an AIA National Award of Merit in 1959 for its innovative design, and numerous other designs for churches soon followed. The church features a graceful, sweeping hyperbolic paraboloid roof that would become a common characteristic for his designs, as well as concrete walls with cutouts for stained glass, inspired by Le Corbusier's design for Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France.
Photo ©Darren Bradley. 

Architect Robert E. Des Lauriers was one of San Diego's leading architects in the post-war period from the late 1950s through the 70s. While Des Lauriers designed many houses, commercial offices, and other buildings throughout San Diego, he developed a reputation for his designs of places of worship for all denominations, and become known as "Mr. Church."