The architects at Harrison Design, a firm based out of Atlanta, Georgia with various other satellite offices, undertood a project in recent years to design a new church for the parish of Mary, Our Queen in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Harrison Design themselves note that the project was based on a now closed church in Buffalo, New York, but of course the design is thoroughly Roman -- in fact, when I see it, the first thing that comes to my mind is that it's a simpler version of the Church of Santi Domenico e Sisto in Rome (the church associated with the Angelicum), though there are many other, similar facades that we can find elsewhere in Rome as well.
Harrison offers the following comments on the background of the project:
Harrison Design was asked to envision a master plan for a new church in a suburb of Atlanta, with seating for at least 600, a choir loft and practice space, as well as office, educational, and gathering spaces for community programs. The design of the building is based on the now-closed St. Gerard’s Catholic Church in Buffalo, NY, which was itself a subtle interpretation of the great Baroque Churches of Rome through a Neo-Classical lens. The ionic arcade in the nave continues this theme of elegant grandeur. Providentially, the design was able to incorporate much of the stained glass, statuary, pews and iron gates from St. Gerard’s in New York. The 37,500-square-foot church was officially dedicated March 17, 2019.
It is worth noting that there have been some further artistic updates to the church since the initial project, which is wonderful to see, because it shows a parish that is throughly committed to the principle of the importance of beauty and liturgical art, but we shall first begin with the beautiful, Roman inspired exterior.
As we move to the inside, we find a classic basilica style model in place; coffered ceiling and a triple nave terminating with the apse.
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| The altar of reservation and the altar of sacrifice |
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| Narthex |
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| Font / Baptismal font |
As we've already mentioned, the work of the ongoing beautification of the parish has continued as recently as the spring of 2025 when the new mural of various saintly queens, painted by artist Neilson Carlin, was installed. To accompany this new mural, a more neutral colour that has been given a marbleized effect was also 'installed' in the sanctuary.
A quick look at the social media page for the parish shows that still further work is now underway, including two new murals that will feature the Annunciation:
For more information on Harrison Design and their work, we'd invite you to visit their website or find them on social media.
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