A sculptural volume that recalls a church steeple rises high above a concrete chapel in the San Francisco Bay Area, designed by American studio Mark Cavagnero Associates.
The Chapel for Saint Mary's is located on the grounds of a Catholic school in Albany, a town neighbouring Berkeley. The building serves the students of Saint Mary's College High School, many of whom come from low-income families and receive scholarships.
Roughly rectangular in plan, the building consists of an assemblage of mostly low-lying forms. The team sought to "make the space feel expansive, connected and larger than its physical footprint".
On the main street-facing elevation, a tall angular volume rises high above the building, appearing like an abstracted steeple. The soaring volume features a window with mullions arranged in a cross formation.
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