St. Ignatius Chapel at the Calcagnini Contemplative Center Bluemont, VA Dynerman Architects pc, Washington D.C. Contractor: Joint Venture - Howard Shockey & Sons; Walnutdale Building Company Photography: Alan Karchmer Completed October 2013
Small and intimate, the chapel is intended for groups up to 24. A component of Georgetown University’s Calcagnini Contemplative Center, the Chapel serves a pivotal role for this off campus facility that houses all of the University’s retreat programs which are at the core of Jesuit tradition and the school’s mission. Developing an architecture that imparts a strong and clear spirituality without specific reference to any one religion was at the heart of the design intentions. The make-up of students and faculty at Georgetown, a Jesuit university, is quite varied - Catholic, Protestant, Jewish,
2014 Faith & Form/IFRAA International Awards Program for Religious Art and Architecture
Muslim and Hindu. The chapel serves all religious communities at the school. The design succeeds, avoiding both domesticity and overt religious allusion through its austere palette and simplicity of design. Conceived as an elemental pavilion, the Chapel’s palette is spare yet rich. The stuccoed masonry walls are perforated with 8” x 8” x 1 1/2” slabs of glass; the floor is poured in place stained concrete. Exposed fir framing and cedar boards complete the interior. The roof is galvanized aluminum, typical for the sheds and barns of the region.