Chapel of St-Ignatius - Steven Holl


Design and Research Methodology
Simon K. Chung - skc@altavista.net

 
 "The metaphor of light is shaped in different volumes emerging from the roof whose irregularities aim at different qualities of light: east facing, south facing, west and north facing, all gathered together for one united ceremony.
 
 

Just as in the Jesuits "spiritual exercies," no single method is prescribed-"different methods helped different people...," here is a unity of differences gathered into one.

Each of thh light volumes corresponds to a part of the prgram of jesuit Catholic worship.  The south-facing light corresponds to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and to the mission of out reach to the community.  The main worship space has a volume of east and west light.
 
 

At night, which is the particular time of gatherings for mass in this university chapel, the light volumes are like beacons shining in all directions out across the campus.  On many occations, for someone always praying, these lights shine throughout the night.  in the Narthex and Entry Procession, one experiences the natural light of the sun with its paly of shadows. Moving deeper into the chapel the light has a mysterious glow of reflected color fields with the complementary color of each field set in a stained glass lens."

The different lights are:
I. Procession-natural sunlight
II. Narthex-natural sunlight
III. Nave-yellow field with blue lens (east)
IV. Blessed Sacrament-orange field with purple lens
V. Choir-green fields with red lens
VI. Reconciliation Chapel-purple field with orange lens
VII. Bell Tower and Pond-projecting, reflecting night light