Chapel of St. Ignatius | AIA Professional

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In the spiritual exercises of the\nJesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church, no single method is\nprescribed. Instead, the sect recognizes that \u201cdifferent methods helped\ndifferent people.\u201d That ideal is reflected in the Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle\nUniversity\u2019s main chapel designed by Steven Holl Architects in 1997, where\ndifferences in light unify to support the worship and ritual needs of the\nuniversity community. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The impetus for the chapel began in\n1994 when Father William Sullivan implemented his plan to construct a new\ncenter for spiritual life at the university. Sullivan\u2019s vision also prompted a\nnew interpretation of Jesuit tradition. During the interview process, Holl and\nhis design team presented a lecture on the phenomenology of architecture, which\nthe campus ministry embraced and connected to related writings by St. Ignatius.\nAfter receiving the commission, the saint\u2019s teachings became a primary source\nof inspiration. The team worked closely with the ministry and students to\ndefine the program throughout the design process and visited several important\nIgnatian sites in Barcelona and Rome. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In designing the chapel, the team\nsettled on the metaphor of light as the divine spirit, featured in a quote by\nSt. Ignatius, to serve as the guiding design concept. Within, light is sculpted\nthrough several volumes that protrude from the chapel roof, each of which aims\nto harness different qualities of light for one united ceremony. Its site\nformed a new quadrangle for the university\u2019s campus, with green space to the\nnorth, west, and, in the future, east. Its rectangular plan was carefully\ntailored to define the campus space as well as the processional and gathering\nspace within. Directly to the south sits a reflecting pond, dubbed a \u201cthinking\nfield\u201d by the architect, washed with light in the evening to further emphasize\nthe chapel\u2019s geometry."]]],[1,"blockquote",[[0,[],0,"In designing the chapel, the team\nsettled on the metaphor of light as the divine spirit, featured in a quote by\nSt. Ignatius, to serve as the guiding design concept."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Each of the chapel\u2019s light volumes\nsupports fundamental elements of the Jesuit worship program. For instance,\nsouth-facing light corresponds with the procession, an essential component of\nmass, while city-facing northern light, corresponds with the Chapel of the\nBlessed Sacrament and the Jesuit tradition of community outreach. The different\nlights concept is further enhanced by the combination of pure colored lenses\nand fields of reflected color within each light volume. In addition, baffles\nwithin each volume oppose large windows, back-painted in bright colors so that\nonly the reflected color can be seen within the chapel."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The chapel\u2019s overarching design concept\nof seven bottles of light contained within a stone box is also expressed\nthrough its tilt-up construction method. Its integral color tilt-up concrete\nslab offers a more direct and economical tectonic than stone veneer. The outer\nenvelope was divided into 21 interlocking panels cast flat on the chapel and\nreflecting pond slabs and cured across 18 days. In just 12 hours, the panels\nwere lifted into place by a hydraulic crane, which often handled loads weighing\nas much as 80,000 pounds. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"At night, the key time for the\nuniversity community to celebrate mass, the volumes all glow like-colored\nbeacons that can be seen across the campus. On some occasions, for those\nconstantly praying, the lights shine throughout the night. While the gathering\nof different lights concept framed the design, it is also emblematic of the\nuniversity\u2019s mission and the many nationalities of students who attend and\ngather under one roof. The contributions of those students were central to the\ndesign process, which delivered a design for the chapel that is simultaneously\nforward-looking and firmly rooted in the past. "]]]]}

Credit

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Jury

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["strong"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Susan Blomquist, AIA, Chair"],[0,[],0,", Payette, Boston"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"L. William Zahner,"],[0,[],0," Zahner, Kansas City, Mo."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Ana Astiazaran,\nAIAS,"],[0,[],0," University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Dominique Hawkins, FAIA,"],[0,[],0," Preservation Design Partnership,\nLLC, Philadelphia"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Eddie Jones,\nFAIA,"],[0,[],0," Jones Studio, Tempe, Ariz."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Gia Mainiero, AIA,"],[0,[],0," Dattner Architects, New York"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Pierre Roberson, AIA,"],[0,[],0," AECOM, Detroit"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Gail\nKubik, Assoc. AIA,"],[0,[],0," Finegold Alexander Architects, Salem, Mass."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Heather Young, AIA,"],[0,[],0," Heather Young Architects, Palo Alto, Calif."]]]]}

Award Year

2022

Project Name

Chapel of St. Ignatius

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In the spiritual exercises of the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church, no single method is prescribed.

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AIA's 2022 recipient of the Twenty-five Year Award is Chapel of St. Ignatius, on the campus of Seattle University by Steven Holl Architects.

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[{"image_id":"6512380","caption":"Exterior view"},{"image_id":"6512381","caption":"Interior view"},{"image_id":"6512382","caption":"The nave of Chapel of St. Ignatius"},{"image_id":"6512383","caption":"Interior view"}]

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Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle

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AIA's 2022 Twenty-five Year Award winner

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{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["strong"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Firm: "],[0,[],0,"Steven Holl Architects"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Owner: "],[0,[],0,"Seattle University"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Location:"],[0,[],0," Seattle"]]]]}

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