Divine Word Chapel

Techny, Illinois

Divine Word Missionaries is one of the largest religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church, serving the poorest parishes in large cities of the developing world and the most remote jungle areas in the Amazon and Papua New Guinea. To mark the centenary of their work in the United States, we expanded and renovated the Mission Office at their American headquarters. This new visitor center is comprised of a new entry, a museum and the Chapel of the Word. The Mission Director asked for an intimate place for private prayer and public worship for small gatherings or individual wayfarers. A circular screen of stacked lumber, wracked on the outside but serene on the inside, and cloudlike floating ceiling planes evoke the indigenous huts and forest clearings in which the missionaries carry out their work. Using natural light and simple materials (pine boards, plywood, galvanized metal, slate, coir and plastic), we wanted to create a luminous space of prayer and spirituality.