Infinity Chapel: photo by Michael Moran click here to see more photos of Infinity Chapel on hanrahanMeyers.com Post Victoria Meyers architect
Here is an excerpt from the article published by the Architect's Newspaper on 10/5/2010; written by Branden Klayko:
"Christian Science Reading Rooms are usually closed to the outside world. Five years ago, however, New York’s Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist began a major renovation of its Greenwich Village home to transform the previously concealed space into a light-filled Infinity Chapel. The church engaged Victoria Meyers and Thomas Hanrahan of Hanrahan Meyers Architects (hMa) to design the new sanctuary, including a reading room and below-grade Sunday school. Both church members and architects were interested in a serious exploration of the properties of light in space.
The commission came to the office, Meyers recalled, after the client encountered a book she was writing, Designing with Light, and sought her advice on creating a new model for their sanctuary. She was flattered but surprised, as the book had not yet been printed. (It was published by Abbeville Press in 2006.)
The design process resulted in a remarkably layered sequence of spaces. “We crafted a curvilinear interpretation of a cube that was ‘opening’ through the action of light,” Meyers explained. “Surfaces peel back to reveal other spaces beyond the cube.” In fact, the interlocking experiences of space, light, and form guided the entire design from the beginning. “In this sense, we really saw the chapel as a contemporary interpretation of a four-dimensional figure—a hypercube.” The challenge was to dissolve and layer not only the experience of light and space, but also the visitor’s sense of time."
LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLE ON ARCHPAPER.COM
lightwells in the Reading Room at Infinity Chapel, NYC: photo by Michael Moran click here to see more photos of Infinity Chapel on hanrahanMeyers.com
