Program
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The University Catholic Center is a fellowship-hall and chapel for the catholic students U.C.L.A. The center serves the academic community with worship services and counseling activities. Sometimes referred to as the "Newman Center", this facility often is a student's first church of their own, away from the family parish of their childhood. While worship is central to the catholic faith, the University Catholic Center recognizes that students face many challenges in their life and require a place of refuge. The nontraditional building typology and architectural language are intended to allow students to develop a new relationship with the catholic faith while providing a temporary home away from home. The program houses 13,800 square feet of interior space dedicated to fellowship activities, dormitory rooms and pastor's offices. The remainder of the space serves as a sanctuary chapel accommodating 375 worshipers per service on two levels. Construction Budget for the project was $3,600.000. |
Context
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Located at 633 Gailey Avenue, Westwood, California, the project site is adjacent to the UCLA campus. The site is a 65-foot wide steeply sloping lot that rises over thirty feet along the properties 115-foot depth. The site was selected because of its proximity to university fraternity houses, high-density student apartment units and several other campus religious facilities. The architectural character and topology of the neighborhood is a broad mixture ranging from mission revival and California bungalow to speculative apartment blocks. The parish favored a strong visual link to the campus rather in order to strengthen the building and neighborhood image as a focus of student social activities. The material pallet and colors were developed as a blending of contemporary forms and ordering systems with the visual patterns of more historic U.C.L.A. buildings located at the center of campus such as Royce Hall. |
Design
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The restrictive site and complex program forced the project to the limits of the Westwood zoning envelope and the visual character of the building faced considerable scrutiny from the Westwood Design Review Board. Side-yard variances were obtained based on the merits of the design strategy. The unusual building typology called for 5 levels to be squeezed into the neighborhoods 45-foot height-limit. The rationalization of the irregular site configuration and topography led to several key architectural developments and articulations of various functions. The narrow site dictated a conventional linier sanctuary space, yet the parish priest and student parishioners favored a flexible plan that would allow a more ritualistically progressive radial seating plan as well as a more conservative monastic seating organization. Contextual integration was achieved in the final plan by utilizing a long rectangular form that allowed the sanctuary to rotate about the alter space filling the irregular site volume. This rotation provides both internal and external transparency of uses and materials defining the more secular service functions from the more ephemeral worship spaces. This segregation is further articulated using different materials and structural systems. Masonry bearing walls and poured in place concrete frame enclose the northern service geometry while a lightweight braced steel frame and curtain wall systems are used for the articulation of the southern worship spaces. The masonry portion of the building utilizes a banded colored pattern with concrete linters typical of many campus structures. This masonry pallet uses the U.C.L.A. brick blend and relates contextually to the existing historic UCLA campus. The lightweight steel frame, smooth plaster surfaces and glass walls are differentiating the purity of the religious activities. Interior finishes are sparse for utility and symbolic purposes. Exposed concrete, masonry walls, natural birch panels and unbleached linen wall-panels were selected for longevity as well as symbolically reflecting the more pedestrian qualities often associated with Christ's life. The main level of the structure is the entry and fellowship level, dining facilities, meeting rooms and a large student living room like lobby. The living room is designed to maintain a strong visual contact with the street to encourage student interaction and invitation to entry. The entry level becomes buried at the rear of the site providing storage and service space. The second and third floors of the structure are dedicated to the sanctuary, chapel with a mezzanine space above. The location of the chapel was the most controversial issue for the students and parish priests. Many participants thought that the worship space should be located at ground level. An equal number felt that the top floor was more symbolic of the religious nature of the space. A compromise was found by locating the sanctuary chapel In the middle of the section. This location allowed the space to open onto a landscaped terrace at the rear of the site allowing cross-ventilation, emergency egress and overflow seating. The terrace space will also serve as a seasonal entry court, with parishioners accessing the back terrace directly from the entry level. The glazed facade at the street allows worship activities to be visible to the campus. An open straight run stair moves up from the entry to both public levels above. The stairway rises through the mufti-level circulation volume terminating at the reconciliation room, symbolic of Christ’s journey up the hill to crucifixion and redemption. The top floor of the building serves as church offices and resident dormitory spaces for students. The office and dorm rooms open to a sheltered exterior deck along the southern exposure of the building, with the vaulted roof providing north light and cross ventilation to the interior spaces. |
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