Prescott Memorial Prayer Chapel

Vision

Set above the Sunset Cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Point Loma Nazarene University’s campus is governed by the overriding security of Christ’s love. The university desired a new chapel to replace the existing one, anchor their campus entrance to the north and provide a serene space for spiritual reflection and connection.

They sought a building that physically embodies eleven key principles:

God’s presence

Spiritual Anchor

Christ’s Embrace

A Path to Christ

Spiritual Beacon

Connection to Christ

Light of the World

Power of God’s Light

Remembrance

God as Nature

Expressing Intention

Carrier Johnson - PLNU Chapel - 03 Exterior 4

We set off on a design route that was shaped by inspiration from the breathtaking natural context; we knew the landscape would play an important role. The approach to the site holds as much significance as the chapel itself, which sits at the campus’s highest point and offers a physical and spiritual ascension. A path of sacred experience aimed at seeking Christ leads to the entry – an abstraction of Christ’s inviting open arms. Abundant natural materials on the site inspired a warm design palette and dramatic west coast lighting would influence interior spaces

Solution

Procession

Visiting this chapel is a ceremonial procession of the body, mind, and spirit. A winding path takes visitors from the campus, up the hill, and around beautiful plantings. Visitors can choose to rest at one of three outdoor garden prayer areas, under a preserved tea tree, or enter the chapel. The chapel’s entry plays with scale to enhance the progression from exterior to interior. Visitors are brought in through a large open entry that compresses down at the doorway, spatially hugging the visitor to create a sense of comfort. Continuing through to the prayer area, the space dramatically opens and lifts, elevating one’s gaze to a suspended woven wooden nest that encapsulates the interior- an architectural expression of Christ’s crown of thorns.

Symbolism Through Form

Simple forms and motifs directed our design thinking; pure geometries allow the space to serve its true purpose in encouraging visitors to connect with Christ with minimal environmental distractions. The design forgoes pews to further simplify the space. Diffuse lighting is filtered through intricate screens of wicker, creating a soft, ambient atmosphere that quiets the mind.

Three personal prayer spaces, emblematic of the Trinity, radially array from the center of the cross as their focal point. These serve as individual moments of prayer for those seeking a more intimate connection with Christ. We encapsulated these small prayer spaces in a screen of wooden planks that create privacy while still allowing views into the main space.

A short span of 33 feet, symbolic of Christ age when he died, separates the entrance from the nave where visitors encounter the centerpiece – a free-standing cross of hickory and stainless steel. Positioning the cross away from the nave wall, to which it is typically attached in other chapels, reminds visitors that the cross is a three-dimensional object one can approach and walk around, much like the cross upon which Christ died. Visitors can write letters and attach them to the cross – a tradition carried over from the previous chapel.

Project Meta

Client

Point Loma Nazarene University

Completion

2008

Size

600 SF

Markets

Higher Education

Project Types

Civic, Higher Education

Services

Architecture