The Chapel of Saint Ignatius

   The Chapel of Saint Ignatuis is located on the top of Seattle’s Capitol Hill area, on the campus of Seattle University.  It is the main chapel on the Catholic University’s campus. I was there to study and enjoy the creation by architect Steven Holl. He based his design on the Catholic worship story of “seven bottles in a stone box”. Light passes through various colored glass windows into each “bottle”, defining each space through light and color. It is not difficult to see, and even feel the building’s theme of bringing light to life. It is so masterfully done, with direct light, reflected light, indirect light, shade and shadow.

   The interior walls are almost entirely made of white plaster, tooled with a 12” serrated trowel. Even this most basic material is brought to life through the light. The designers of this space felt this white light was a metaphor for the collective students at Seattle University coming together.

   There were many aspects of this building that caught my attention. First, the door and its beautiful bronze handle. Architect Jim Graham spoke of the handle as being “the handshake of the building” It is the feature most often touched by anyone who enters, and may be the only thing they touch. It is therefore important that the handle be beautiful and comfortable to touch.

   A second detail that caught my eye, were the bronze pieces on the building exterior. I took time to sketch one, but could not figure out what their purpose might be. Mr. Graham was kind enough to explain them, and the story was fascinating. He told how the concrete walls were poured into slabs, but they wanted the top of the slab to face the building’s exterior, which is not the norm. For this reason, they needed to place metal hooks into the concrete, so they could hoist the slabs into their vertical position. Instead of just using rebar, or something just totally utilitarian, they made the pieces part of the design. The pieces are cast bronze, sculpted from a cast of an old Japanese fishing float. One can even see the wood grain from the float in the bronze. It was very inspiring to see beauty and function working together in harmony. That is how I felt about the entire space, beauty, function and inspiration all working together. Exactly what a Chapel or Church should be.