The Chapel of St. Ignatius
The Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center will serve the campus community as an environmentally sensitive and sustainable sacred space. It is designed with awareness to the context of the overall site, both in relation to the Gothic-style adjacent buildings and the surrounding environment. The Chapel will have a perceived sense of mass and weightiness that evokes a feeling of permanence as seen in other buildings on campus. The building will elevate the harmony between the other buildings by having its own distinctly contemporary character.
That character can be found in its unique shape, and one that is rarely friendly to acoustic intervention. Threshold designed an audio system that will fit the architecture, embracing its structure rather than working against it.
In the Chapel’s circular shape and connected reflective spaces, visitors receive a sense of wholeness and invitation to community. Internally, the repetition of the circular motif further realizes the value of oneness of a campus community learning together to integrate the pursuits of faith and reason.
Ample natural, diffuse daylight will wash the spaces within the new Chapel to provide an inviting and natural environment; a large oculus and skylight will be integrated within the sanctuary space’s ceiling in order to create a connection with the sky and heavens. Large glass entry doors allow for a direct visual connection from the campus into the heart of the sanctuary and vice versa, creating a welcoming addition to the campus community.
Location
New Orleans, Louisiana
Owner
Loyola University
Team
Acoustics and AV - Threshold
Architect - Trahan Architects
Size
4,620 square feet
Schedule
Estimated Completion 2022
Awards
AN’s Best of Design Awards, Editor’s Pick in the Unbuilt Education Category, 2021