Chapman University, Fish Interfaith Center

Chapman University

FISH INTERFAITH CENTER

[ orange, ca ]

PROJECT

Fish Interfaith Center Chapman University LOCATION

Orange, CA

The Merle and Marjorie Fish Interfaith Center is a richly layered building with a unique response to program, imagery, and spirituality. The concept for the chapel was to develop a composition of space that transports visitors from the material world (campus) into the spiritual realm.

The path into this realm incorporates a series of architectural and artistic elements that reinforce this transitional experience. The symbology used in this journey had to comfortably accommodate people of many different beliefs. To achieve this vision, AC Martin collaborated with five prominent artists to create a metaphorically significant experience beyond that which architecture alone could create.

The journey begins outside the chapel with a 60-foot light tower that glows at night with lantern-like illumination from backlit marble. This lighted beacon acts as a focal point, drawing the visitor into a pathway that integrates a three-part work of art featuring swirling blue lines in the floor, flowing together and forming a musical score. A lily pond graces the chapel entrance and borders the processional path into the sanctuary, evoking the message of “re-birth” as one makes the journey into the worship space.

Inside the sanctuary, gently inward-curving chapel walls seem to embrace the congregation within a protective refuge. These walls—which range from two to ten feet—surround the 250-seat worship space. Floor-to-ceiling panes of glass at the corners and a clerestory around the top create the illusion of a roof that floats 40 feet above the sanctuary floor.

Filtered light draws the eye towards the altar, above which is a golden-bronze metal sculpture portraying the setting moon and the rising sun. Light entering from the skylight and art glass windows interweaves with interior lighting to play upon the sculpture’s metallic surface.

At the northeast corner, a solar fountain marks the opening of a tranquil courtyard. This courtyard is divided into two main spaces, one representative of earthly life and the other, eternity. Plantings surrounding the chapel and sycamore wood finishes inside the sanctuary are metaphors for spiritual growth.

The chapel exterior is sheathed in golden collegiate brick, giving the building an air of permanence and longevity as well as a contextual relationship to the historic setting of Old Towne Orange.

South Elevation

Floor Plan

1

Steeple

2

Courtyard

3

Pond

4

Entry Trellis

5

Vestibule

6

Main Worship Space

7

Small Chapel

8

Small Chapel Gate

9

Garden

10

Fountain

11

Columbarium

12

Preparation Room

13

Reception

14

Conference

15

Office

16

Sound

17

Electrical

18

Restroom

19

Storage

20

Janitor

1

14

2

15 13

4

15

15 3 15 18

12

15

5

18

20

16 6

17

19

7 9 8 10 11

Main Entrance and Vestibule

Interior Details

Interior Details

Furniture, Altar, and Candelabra

Garden of the Senses

Columbarium

Columbarium and Garden of the Senses

South Elevation

chapman university

fish interfaith center Client Size Completion Location Key Points

Chapman University 12,250 GSF 2004 Orange, CA • Architecture that speaks to the spirituality of many religions represented on campus; • Sculptural design that is open and inviting; • Full height and clerestory fenestration make the roof appear to float above the sanctuary; • Incorporation of natural elements including stone, light, water, and wood; • Prominent steeple with backlit marble element that functions as a beacon of light; and • Contextual relationship to the historic setting of Old Towne Orange.

Awards

AIA / Orange County Design Merit Award, 2007 Interior Design Magazine Best of Year: Institutional, 2006 Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture & Design American Architecture Award, 2002

contact donna clandening director of marketing 213 614 6039

444 south flower street suite 1200 los angeles ca 90071