PROJECT CATEGORY New Construction (completed September 2001)

CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR Sister JoCeal Young, Director of Mission Services, (619) 686-3888

FIRM Aesthetics, Inc., (619) 683-7500

DESIGN TEAM Annette Ridenour, Principal Project Lead; Diana Polkinghorne, Project Designer; Kevin McCasland, Project Designer (Aesthetics, Inc.); David N. Moon, AIA, FACHA, Managing Principal; Douglas A. Mayoras, AIA, ACHA, Design Principal (Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc.)

PHOTOGRAPHY Carol Peerce

BED CAPACITY N/A

TOTAL BUILDING AREA (SQ. FT.) 1,975

TOTAL LAND AREA N/A

TOTAL COST approx. $850,000


Aesthetics provided interior design and art consulting services for this chapel, which opened in September 2001. Moon Mayoras Architects, Inc., was the Executive Architect. The design process began with integration of Diocesan directives for Catholic chapels and goals established at a Vision of Design workshop with chaplains, Sisters of Mercy and staff. Aesthetics translated these criteria into conceptual designs that became the heart and vision of the client's five-year fundraising challenge.

The goal was to design a Catholic chapel to serve as a multicultural and interfaith place of worship for staff, patients and families who wanted to include prayer and spiritual care at the hospital. To this end, it was crucial for designers to evoke spiritual feelings by using nondenominational design features. Two major themes were the use of light and the “River of Life.”

Light was incorporated via a stained-glass wall containing imagery of the beauty of nature and Lazure paintings utilizing inspirational rays of colored light. The River of Life was incorporated both in the flooring and stained-glass window. Other features include a water wall, with sounds that trickle into the lobby, and a prayer wall, inviting visitors to write prayers and sit in quiet reflection. The chapel also features an inlaid ceramic and stone river design in the vestibule floor.

Response to the chapel has been immense, far surpassing all expectations. Since the chapel setting strongly reflects serenity, it is an extraordinary environment for doctor/patient/family discussions, as well as a place for private meditation


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