This 150-seat chapel and classroom building creates a new spiritual and academic center for the school that is progressive yet rooted in its history. The design was concerned with creating a balance between the sacred and secular academic programs, exemplifying the core values of the school. Based on a survey of students and faculty, a vision for the chapel emerged as a soft, feminine, contemplative space of worship flooded with light and connected to nature. There was a strong desire to connect to the narrative of St. Teresa, the patron saint of lace makers. The design manifested this vision as a lace veil over glass shrouding the worship space and filtering light. The state-of-the-art classrooms serve as a banquet space when combined; they are housed in a soft-edged brick form with tall windows responds to existing campus buildings. The sacred and secular elements come together as architecture that not only completes the open end of the campus quad, but also serves as the new gateway to campus.
Photo Credits: Assassi Productions and Michael Spillers
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