Chapel of St Joseph, Illinois Lady of Guadalupe, Chicago Place of Worship, USA Building Interior, News
Chapel of St Joseph in Des Plaines
July 30, 2020
Chapel of St Joseph
Design: Wheeler Kearns Architects
Location: Des Plaines, Illinois, USA
Chapel of St Joseph at Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, IL, designed by Chicago-based firm Wheeler Kearns Architects.

When transforming a 1937 gymnasium into the Shrine?s first climate-controlled and sheltered space, the design team reused over 75% of the structure. It exposed the original timber roof deck and painted the original riveted steel trusses.

A new glass and steel modern addition to the north, which inflects toward the Shrine, provides a fully accessible entry for visitors. Upon entering, visitors encounter familiar forms, which, like early churches in the New World, are constructed with humble materials of wood, metal, and clay, elevated by prismatic forms bathed in natural light.
Side chapels, highlighted with gossamer canopies of wire mesh, warm wood paneling, and grazed with LED lighting, provide places of devotion for visitors of multiple cultures.

Like traditional pilgrimage churches, the altar is raised above the main floor for visibility, while, unconventionally, a rear wall conceals two ramps that make both surrounding platforms accessible. A new skylight, positioned above the altar, casts natural light on it.

The Chapel resulted from the efforts of a devoted community determined to make the best use of ...