We were honored to have a project selected for display at the 21stannual Build Boston Convention for our design of the Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center in Watertown.
A new Jesuit spiritual renewal center has been completed in Watertown, MA. “The goal is to make the vibrant spirituality we share more adaptable and accessible to people living their lives to the fullest each day,” explained the Very Reverend Thomas J. Regan, S.J.. The conference center and chapel were built in the Jesuit Provincial offices for the purpose of introducing a new format for teaching laypersons the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius.
Besides being on the spiritual cutting edge, the project was designed with the latest sustainable design approaches in mind. One of the goals of sustainable design is to recycle existing buildings. The new conference facility is an adaptive reuse of an old manufacturing facility.
Another feature of sustainable design is the use of renewable and recycled resources. Cork flooring is both a renewable and a recycled product. For that reason, the architect Bill Sterling of Sterling Associates, Incorporated, suggested the use of cork flooring. To make cork flooring trees are merely harvested for their bark, not killed. In addition, the flooring manufacturer recycles waste cork from the production of cork bottle stops and produces a variety of cork flooring colors and textures. Inspired by the Jesuitical style floor patterns of San Miniato in Florence, Sterling produced a richly geometric pattern of cork inlay for the chapel. The flooring installer was able to take the electronic file of the design and cut the pattern with a laser cutter to the precise dimensions and complexity desired.
For stained glass windows the architect worked with David Wilson Design who produced a colorful light experience that transforms the chapel into another world. Thus, this chapel features geometry and light as evidence of God’s presence on earth.
“I have seen so many of my friends discover the presence of God in their lives in unexpected ways because of our retreats and our unique form of spirituality,” said Brother Mc Davitt who died recently of a brain tumor and after whom the Center was named.
This design was also featured in Faith and Form Magazine last month, Issue #3, 2005.