Chapel Interior Remodeling

Religious Sisters of Mercy Chapel
Alma, Michigan

The Chapel is part of the Educational Conference Center, designed and built in 2002.  The Chapel, a section of the Educational  Conference Center, had to follow the overall structural system of an existing building (i.e., a car dealership); and as a result, the aesthetics of the worship space were compromised.

The concept behind the remodeling of the Chapel was to blend through materials, finishes, and colors the existing elements (structural and nonstructural) into a warmer and better defined space.  The warm colors of the walls, posts and beams are to harmonize with the existing honey color of the wood trim and pews, the warm grey colors of the floor tiles, and the while marble tables/stand (i.e., altar table, Blessed Sacrament table, relic stand and Blessed Mother stand), as well as with the proposed wooden acoustical ceiling.

All walls, posts and beams received Venetian plaster, a marble-like finish,  Like stucco, Venetian plaster is multidimensional, so the amount of richness you get is very different from the effect obtained by using glaze and pain faux finishes.

In the Sanctuary, a large mural on canvas (acrylic on canvas, encaustic, or other technique) with gold leaf background will cover entirely the main trapezoidal wall.

Part of the design is the proposed wooden acoustical ceiling, similar in color with the pews and the wood trim around doors and windows.

This remodeling project is in progress.


BEFORE RESTORATION
       (Photos to be uploaded)

DURING RESTORATION
      (Photos to be uploaded)


AFTER RESTORATION
     (Photos to be uploaded)