Religious Architecture: New Facilities
Moto Designshop
Merion Station, PA
St. Joseph’s University sought to centralize the living spaces for community priests in a way that encouraged interaction and communing with each other and also wanted to design a truly enriching architectural experience.
The creative catalyst for Arrupe Hall was the Gregorian calendar, gifted to civilization by the Jesuit priest, astronomer, and mathematician Christopher Clavius in the late 16th century. This abstract conceptual driver is most apparent in the chapel. Its curving form and patterned façade is a calculated geometric expression of the transition to the Gregorian calendar over the last 500 years. A thin masonry screen wraps the chapel like a veil, diffusing the light throughout the space. Each brick is a consistent unit of construction that represents a consistent unit of time. The meaning and materials work in concert to give the structure a human scale while being a true manifestation of Jesuit identity.
Arrupe Hall is a community building, a place for living, learning, working, and worshipping. A home for Jesuits and a hub for apostolic life in Philadelphia, the building fosters connections and collaboration across all city ministries. While the design draws on the massing, materials, and scale of the surrounding buildings, it introduces a compelling architectural vocabulary that reflects Jesuit ideals and the university’s whole-person educational model. Forming a cohesive whole are individual elements including shared community spaces, private living quarters, and a chapel.
Jury Comments
The chapel is a remarkable space, and its use of light as incorporated into the space’s geometry is poetic. Detailing in the central chandelier is exquisite. This chapel takes its place in the great tradition of campus sacred space as seen on such campuses as MIT.
Project Team Members
Adam Montalbano
Molly Baum
Roman Torres
Austin McInnis
Eric Oskey
Ben Estepani
Ann T. Dinh
Project Consultants
Hunter Roberts/ Construction Management
Dan Lepore & Sons/ Mason
