Tulip's Friend
MIT Chapel Interior, Cambridge, Massachusetts https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/MIT_Chapel_Interior.jpg/512px-MIT_Chapel_Interior.jpg
Several elements of Modernism are encapsulated in Saarinen's design of the MIT Chapel. The expanse of open space is itself a feature, pertaining to the function of the building as a conduit for a powerful, yet unseen presence.
The layout of the seating guides the congregation's gaze towards a central focal point of a set of concentric plinths at floor level leading upwards to a circular opening to the sky where natural light pours down and lands on the simplest of altars. The basic geometric shapes and symmetry combine to create an atmosphere where the evocation of a sense of awe, wonder and reverence is all but assured.
Saarinen's Chapel reflects the influence of his father's work, his 1941 design for the First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana which, true to the family's Lutheran connections, consists of simple lines and is devoid of ostentation - the epitome of Modernism and the antithesis - and outright rejection - of tradition. Light, space and acoustics are also central to the design, however, a crucial difference was Saarinen senior's preference for asymmetry over a symmetrical arrangement of the building's internal spaces.
MIT Chapel Interior, Cambridge, Massachusetts https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/MIT_Chapel_Interior.jpg/512px-MIT_Chapel_Interior.jpg
Several elements of Modernism are encapsulated in Saarinen's design of the MIT Chapel. The expanse of open space is itself a feature, pertaining to the function of the building as a conduit for a powerful, yet unseen presence.
The layout of the seating guides the congregation's gaze towards a central focal point of a set of concentric plinths at floor level leading upwards to a circular opening to the sky where natural light pours down and lands on the simplest of altars. The basic geometric shapes and symmetry combine to create an atmosphere where the evocation of a sense of awe, wonder and reverence is all but assured.
Saarinen's Chapel reflects the influence of his father's work, his 1941 design for the First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana which, true to the family's Lutheran connections, consists of simple lines and is devoid of ostentation - the epitome of Modernism and the antithesis - and outright rejection - of tradition. Light, space and acoustics are also central to the design, however, a crucial difference was Saarinen senior's preference for asymmetry over a symmetrical arrangement of the building's internal spaces.