Photo Credit: Tim Hursley

The Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center

Religious Architecture: New Facilities
Trahan Architects

New Orleans, LA

The Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center, located on Loyola University New Orleans’ historic quad, provides a place for spiritual contemplation and an inspiring space for campus gatherings. Designed by Trahan Architects, the building’s simple cylindrical form, composed of textured, handmade brick, harmonizes with the surrounding Tudor-Gothic architecture while maintaining its own distinctive contemporary character. The chapel’s solid exterior evokes a permanence and stability that reflects the surrounding campus.

Both inside and out, the building’s curved spaces foster communal intimacy. The layout of the interior references the traditional axial plans of Gothic cathedrals while cross-weaving interfaith programs within the dedicated Catholic spaces—elevating the university’s value of diversity.

Jury Comments

The circular design makes a bold, contrasting statement in the context of the surrounding campus architecture. But it works. The fractal plan and the precise intersections of ceiling and wall planes was impressive. The interior is minimal in terms of decoration but it still feels intimate and communal.

Project Partners

Spackman Mossop Michaels
Morphy, Makofsky, Inc.
Introba
Threshold Acoustics, LLC
Tillotson Design Associates, LLC
Studio Goons
Caro Prados Burks
E. Kraemer
Jerry Nance
Malcolm Kriegel