Renovation of Chapel and Creation of New Multifaith Center
for Religious and Spiritual Life at Wellesley College Complete
| For
immediate release: May 9, 2008 |
Contact:
Molly Tarantino, mtaranti@wellesley.edu |
 |
The newly renovated Wellesley College chapel |
WELLESLEY, Mass. – On Friday, May 9, presidential inauguration events for H. Kim Bottomly began with a multifaith community gathering in Houghton Memorial Chapel. The celebration also marked the completion of a major project to renovate the chapel and create a Multifaith Center for Religious and Spiritual Life at Wellesley College. The project reflects Wellesley’s commitment to develop a multifaith religious and spiritual life program that serves the educational mission of the college and the diversity of its members.
“Together with the existing Religious and Spiritual Life offices and the Hillel Lounge and Kosher kitchen, the renovated chapel and new Multifaith Center will create an environment better able to nurture and celebrate the religious and spiritual life of the college community,” said Victor Kazanjian, dean of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.
The lower level of the chapel has undergone a dramatic transformation into the Multifaith Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, as envisioned by KieranTimberlake Associates. A meditation fountain and reflection pool greets visitors at the entrance to the center. At the heart of the new gathering place is a multi-faith worship space of translucent glass, in the words of the architects, “a new lantern set within the one hundred year old brick and stone walls celebrating light and discovery where, in physical terms, one expects only darkness.” This space, which will provide flexible gathering space for people of all faiths as well as a space for yoga, dance and musical performance, is surrounded on three sides by smaller rooms, each devoted to a more specific form of spiritual practice: prayer, meditation and study.
“Symbolically, these three rooms and their relationship with the multifaith worship space provide the community with the places for practice necessary for their specific faith, for encounter with one another and for dialogue in Wellesley’s multifaith community,” the architects said.
A gathering hall with an adjoining kitchen to prepare and share food, will provide a place for students, faculty, staff and alumnae to gather in community.
The project has also renewed Houghton Chapel in significant ways through several life cycle improvements. The heating system has been replaced and ventilation enhanced. All lighting, wiring and plumbing has been upgraded. In the upper chapel, new chairs have been created, new flooring installed and acoustics improved with a new sound system. The stained glass windows are in the process of being cleaned, repaired and completed — a project that will continue through 2010. Sprinkler systems for fire have been installed on both levels, and the entire chapel has been made accessible through the addition of a ramp, elevator and accessible restrooms. Roof repairs have been undertaken, including the restoration of damaged stone finials. Drainage around the building perimeter has been enhanced to stop water penetration at walls and foundations. Exterior lighting has been extended and exterior stairs repaired. Every effort was made to preserve and enhance the upper chapel as a venue for musical performances.
Houghton Chapel, which completed construction in 1899, is an important venue for programs of religion, music, art, lecture and community rituals. Currently the Religious Life team at Wellesley includes a Buddhist chaplain, Hindu advisor, a rabbi and Hillel director, a Muslim chaplain, a Roman Catholic chaplain, a Protestant chaplain and a Unitarian Universalist chaplain.
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 68 countries.
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