Pelli Visit Brings Drexel Chapel Closer To Reality It would be an understatement to suggest that building a free-standing religious chapel on campus has been an elusive dream for most of Xavier’s history. A chapel was actually included in (then) Mother Katharine Drexel’s original blueprint plans for the Xavier campus in the late 1920’s and it has been mentioned as an upcoming project in nearly every university strategic plan for the past 80+ years. However those plans were always deferred in order to address other essential campus needs such as new classrooms and laboratories, faculty and staff offices, living “...World-renowned residences and architect Cesar Pelli other student oriented service visited the XU campus facilities.
to unveil his design
Architect’s watercolor rendering of the proposed St. Katharine Drexel Chapel as it will be seen from the Quad.
But that dream is for the new finally about to St. Katharine become a reality. In September Drexel Chapel.“ 2009 the longawaited project officially moved off the university’s “to do” list and onto its “get it done” list when world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli visited the XU campus to unveil his design for the new St. Katharine Drexel Chapel. The 11,000 square foot structure will be situated next to the pharmacy addition right alongside the Interstate-10 Expressway bringing motorists to and from downtown New Orleans. Like the other buildings on campus, the chapel’s exterior will be made of limestone. Its domed roof will be made of copper with a large cross located strategically at its crest that architect Pelli joked “will be visible from the
XG Spring 2010
Motorists traveling to and from the city via I-10 can’t help but notice the continuing progress of the towering six-story Qatar Pavilion expansion. Despite construction delays due to unfavorable winter weather, completion is scheduled for early summer with the official ribbon-cutting in the fall.
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