Not so very long ago, we wrote an article about the impressive transformation of a dining hall into a chapel. That particular bit of coverage roused a great deal of interest as it helped to show the liturgical potentiality that can be found, with a bit of creativity and a lot of good taste, in even the simplest and most mundane of spaces. Well we are very pleased to be able to bring our readers yet another instance of this lesson, in this case a project undertaken by Harrison Design and Conrad Schmitt Studios who transformed a similarly plain architectural space into a rather beautiful and functional chapel.
The work in question was done for the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives located in Sykesville, Maryland and what you will see in the before photograph here is that what we were dealing with here was effectively little more than a hall that has been set up to function as a gymnasium of sorts:
BEFORE:
As you can see, it was a very basic, functional space with little to architecturally recommend it in its own right. Four walls, a few doors and windows, drop lighting and a simple pointed ceiling. As I say, however, with a bit of creativity and good taste, even very simple spaces like this can be radically re-imagined:
AFTER:
This sort of transformation might better be called a "transfiguration," so profoundly has the space been affected. One would hardly be able to imagine that prior to this the space functioned in the capacity it did.
If you were to ask me what makes this work, obviously there is the substantial altar, framed behind by a retedos structure first and foremost, but beyond that, there is also the use of colour and stencilled details that help to make an otherwise plain space seem suddenly much more ornamental. There are other elements as well of course, but I would highlight these as being the primary factors that really transform the space. I do find myself wondering if there is an intent to replace the windows with either at some point, whether that be stained glass, or another option they might be frosted, Tudor style windows. One will certainly note, however, that the former window located in the peak has been replaced with a small stained glass window that has been incorporated into the retablo -- a nice little detail.
I'd be remiss to not also note that the chapel also boasts a reproduction of Guido Reni's famed depiction of the Holy Trinity, the original of which is found above the hight altar Ss. Trinita dei Pellegrini in Rome.
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