Glavin Family Chapel at Babson College
Wellesley, Mass.
William Rawn Associates, Architects

Non-denominational chapel mediates between college and nature

© Steve Rosenthal

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Designed to serve the diverse spiritual needs of the Babson College community, this nondenominational chapel achieves an elemental spiritual aesthetic, while avoiding specific religious iconography. Reinforcing the building’s nondenominational character, users can arrange chairs and other furnishings inside the space to accommodate a variety of religious ceremonies.

The architects located the sanctuary, whose form takes the shape of a square, on the slope of a gentle hillside at the edge of campus. Its positioning creates an axis that rises from the heart of campus and terminates in the chapel. Two perpendicular stone walls face the campus, affording privacy and presenting a strong, platonic face to the secular world. At the rear of the building two perpendicular glass walls face a forest. The architects describe these walls as “spiritual windows” that establish a clear connection between the sanctuary and the natural world beyond.

Exterior stone steps, set flush with the sloped lawn, lead to an intimate foyer which, though bathed in diffuse light, appears screened from the secular world beyond. Ornamental paneled doors separate this foyer from the lofty sanctuary so that on entering the chapel, visitors are dazzled by its dramatic stained glass windows and views of the natural landscape.

The chapel’s ceiling, a boat hull, pays homage to college founder Roger Babson, who was fascinated by the sea. Its rounded form provides a counterpoint to the rectilinear form of the building’s interior, leading the eye up and out toward the trees and sky above. Artwork throughout the building includes celestial imagery in the sanctuary’s main doors, reeds and flowers at the base of the altar, and dynamic waves that fill the stained glass windows. The architects believe this forms a reminder of man’s place in the natural world.

Formal name of Project:
Glavin Family Chapel at Babson College

Location:
Wellesley, Mass.

Gross square footage:
5,100 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$2.1 million

Owner:
Babson College

Architect:
William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.
101 Tremont Street, 2nd floor
Boston, MA 02108
Ph: 617.423.3470 Fax: 617.451.9205
www.rawnarch.com