Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL

At the entry of the Seminary is a daily chapel with cast glass walls and an entry glass mural. Both works reference the former seminary which was located in a gothic styled building. The entrance to the chapel is a cast, bent and laminated glass gothic arch while the walls are also a cast glass. Water flows over the cast glass walls and gothic arch on both the outside and inside, flowing into a pool at the bottom. At the entrance is a glass bridge so the visitors enter by walking over the water, symbolizing the purification by water as a reenactment of the rite of baptism. The cast pattern on the glass surfaces are of figures standing closely together, representing the belief that ‘together we stand’ which is one of the principles of the seminary.

 

The entry mural is also composed of curved laminated glass with painted imagery of flowing water within which there are the likenesses of twenty individuals who have affected social justice over the past century. The curved glass panels also reference the form of gothic arches as an association with the former seminary. This reference is further expressed by an illuminated mural of gothic architectural forms behind the glass arches.

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Architects : Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney : https://www.snh-a.com/