Project Categories
Washington University Graham Chapel Addition
St. Louis MO Map
Located at the center of the busy campus, Washington University’s Graham Chapel addition presented two major challenges. The first was to construct the 500-square-foot, one-level facility in the middle of a campus with heavy student pedestrian traffic and frequent events. The second was to match the pitch, size and color of the existing granite and limestone, replicating the collegiate Gothic style popular a century ago on university campuses. The goal was to make the structure look like it, too, had been built circa 1907.
Working with its supplier, Leonard Masonry craftsmen were sent to Ironton, Mo. in southern Missouri to locate the exact part of the quarry from which to pull the granite, knowing that a near-perfect match was needed. At the campus site, existing granite was removed from the main edifice and replaced with new granite, and old pieces were blended in with the new. Also, an arched doorway with gargoyles was taken down, moved "out" to the new addition, and granite was custom-blended around it. The face of the limestone was V-grooved throughout to match the existing materials on the main chapel. The V-grooves ran different directions, so all the work involved extensive field verification and time-consuming hand planning. Special care also was taken to match existing interior marble flooring in the main chapel.
Awards:
Fall 2000 - Masonry Institute of St. Louis "Excellence Award in Renovation Craftsmanship"
Spring 2002 - Building Stone Magazine Tucker Architectural Award
- Size:
- 500
- Type:
- Religious
- Definition:
- Addition
- Date Completed:
- 12/31/1998
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Participants On This Project
