Renewing spaces: designing distinctive churches

Christian Century, Nov 15, 2005 by Michael J. Crosbie

Worship is a collective activity, so the design focuses on the 450-seat sanctuary. This square room, symmetrical on all sides, offers a strong sense of "oneness." In the sanctuary the unobstructed clear span creates an expressive structural form that soars to the light of the cupola. The church's narthex (the space where visitors first enter, before proceeding to the sanctuary) was designed in response to the congregation's tradition of greeting one another in fellowship before the service.

Giving old traditions a new interpretation: In any design, the architect seeks a source of inspiration. In some cases, the architect may examine the tenets of faith itself and use these philosophies and beliefs as a starting point in the design. This is a difficult task, since it requires the architect to transform abstract concepts of belief into a physical object--a church.

For many years the sisters of the Abbey of St. Walburga, a Benedictine monastery, occupied a compound in downtown Denver. With the growth of the city, however, the increase in traffic and urban noise threatened the solitude of the abbey. The 30 sisters set out to relocate their abbey to a remote site in northern Colorado, not far from the Wyoming border.

The design of the abbey, which is the work of Barrett Studio Architects of Denver, puts at the center a chapel where the nuns gather to pray several times a day. This project was phased over several years, and the chapel was built first.

From the earliest discussions with the sisters, the architects realized that their faith was a living tradition, not an exercise in nostalgia. This faith informs the way the sisters view the world and how they direct their lives, which they dedicate to prayer. The community is guided in its earthly and spiritual life by the principles of St. Benedict's Rule. The Benedictine tradition emphasizes beauty, stability, symmetry, harmony with nature, frugality, simplicity and truthfulness.

The architects used these principles in the design of the new chapel. The setting in the hills allows the abbey to live in harmony with its natural surroundings through the use of concrete, wood and metal, which contribute to a color palette that is very much at home in this setting amid rocks and trees. The interior of the chapel, the heart of the community, is contained within an octagonal shape. Symmetrical on all eight of its axes, it is close in symmetry to the circle, which is a geometric symbol of Christ, with no beginning and no end.

The upper portions of the chapel are filled with windows amid the wood root structure. The natural light represents truth--the light of the Word. The materials used inside the chapel are expressed in their natural beauty--the wood structure, ceramic the floor and concrete walls all express their nature without being hidden behind paint or other finishes. The exposed-wood roof structure is an expression of the building's stability. The sparseness of the interior communicates a sense of beauty and also of frugality--allowing the natural materials and abundant sunshine to articulate simplicity within the chapel. The design grows from the faith tradition of the Benedictines and expresses a new interpretation of that ancient tradition.