Award for Religious Architecture, New Facilities
BOUDREAUX
Clemson, SC
Connected to nature and its campus surroundings, the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel utilizes natural materials and an expressive wood structure to create a welcome place of respite for both celebration and remembrance. Entering from the Library Green, the visitor sheds the bustle and stresses of college life and passes into the serenity of the light-filled gathering place with its inspiring landscape and memorial garden views. Taking advantage of its hillside setting and opening to the garden, the lower-level gallery and prayer rooms provide space for small groups and individual reflection furthering the physical and spiritual connection to the natural setting. Three primary themes guided the design based upon the input of students, campus stakeholders, and donors: connectivity to the campus and the natural setting, an expression of structure and craftsmanship, and the creation of a welcoming place of both celebration and reflection.
The chapel sits at a central campus crossroads, an easily accessible and inviting location where a student can be both a part, yet separate. Inexorably tied to the land, the chapel simultaneously rises from and sits within its hillside site. The structure and character were designed to be familiar and welcoming, with a strong vertical form and an open, airy interior, providing views of the surrounding landscape. The brick piers are structured internally by environmentally friendly, cross-laminated timber panels. Spanning east to west, the carefully detailed glue-laminated structure supports the wood roof framing and ceiling planks, providing both warmth and rhythm. Mechanical systems are housed in the lower level and feed through the wood floor structure from below, keeping the structure above clean and open. Fire protection, lighting, window shades, and the projection screen are all integrated into the structure to be functional but unseen.
A soaring yet intimate space, the Chapel seats 120 for gatherings. It is intended first for students who can reserve the space for faith-based and cultural events. It also serves the community and larger Clemson family who can reserve the space for weddings or memorials. Its character matches the Clemson campus in the color of its brick, rigor of its design, and richness of its detailing, yet it is unlike any other space on campus in the emotions it evokes.
Jury Comments
This is a wonderful project with an obvious debt to the religious architecture of E. Fay Jones. The chapel is very well sited on the campus. It is an inspiring, authentic space for interfaith. Its height and light are magnificent and celebratory. It is a beacon for the campus.
Project Team Members
R. Randall Huth, AIA
Celia Mackintosh, IIDA, NCIDQ
Heather Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP
Keith Richey, AIA
Joette Flora, AIA, LEED AP
Irene Dumas Tyson, AICP, Associate AIA
Project Consultants
Mashburn Construction, general contractor
Land Planning Associations, Inc., civil engineer
Britt, Peters and Associates, Inc., structural engineer
Belka Engineering Associates, Inc., electrical engineer
Swygert & Associates, mechanical engineer
Bunnell Lammons Engineering, geotechnical engineer
Scott R. Riedel & Assoc, Ltd., acoustical consultant
DSH Audio Visions, LLC, AV consultant
Cost Plus Estimating. cost estimating
Clemson University Planning & Design, landscape architect
BOUDREAUX, interior design
Brad Feinknopf, photography
