Chapel Update

First of Interior Columns Arrive from Italy

(Fall 2006 Newsletter)

President Dillon and design architect Duncan Stroik examine the handiwork of the artisans at Savema manufacturing company in northern Italy.

By the grace of God and through the gifts of many friends of Thomas Aquinas College, construction of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel is advancing. The exterior walls of the Chapel now rise over 20 feet in the air and are still climbing as, brick by brick, a small army of stone masons brings this crown jewel of the campus closer to completion.

On October 17, the first 10 of the 20 marble columns slated for the nave of the Chapel arrived from Italy and were unloaded near the construction site. Cut from solid blocks of marble, shaped on a lathe, and polished to a luminous sheen, these graceful columns will be the most prominent visual element of the nave, and will serve to march the eye down the central nave to the altar and tabernacle centrally located in the sanctuary.

Choosing the Material
The Chapel columns are of solid Botticino marble, quarried in the town of Botticino in the Northern Italian province of Brescia. Used in many buildings of note in Europe and the United States, this classic Botticino marble was chosen for its color, warmth, and veining which will serve as a rich backdrop for the pure white Sivec marble of the altar and tabernacle, and the bronze of the baldacchino.

Though marble has long been the material of choice for church builders, its geological delicacies can make it a difficult medium to manipulate. For example, the initial cut of any block of marble can reveal fissures and cracks, making it a poor candidate for a column. As a consequence, most of the blocks quarried for the Chapel (average size of 15’ x 5’ x 5’ and weight in excess of 34 tons) yielded as many as four columns, while from a few, our marble manufacturer in Pietrasanta, Savema, was only able to harvest two. Little marble is actually wasted though, as cracked marble that may not be suitable for 14’ columns can still be used for other projects.

Designing the Columns
The task of turning this “raw material” into beautiful pieces of ecclesiastical art fell on artisans in Italy, but the prior role of drafting them rested with the design architect of the Chapel, Duncan G. Stroik, professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame. Professor Stroik received his architectural education from the University of Virginia and Yale University. Following graduation, he served as a project designer for architect Allan Greenberg, with whom he designed a number of prestigious civic, institutional, collegiate, and residential projects. In 1990 Stroik was invited to help form and implement a new curriculum in classical architecture at the University of Notre Dame, hailed by The New York Times as the “Athens of the new movement.”

Each column was turned on a computerized lathe to achieve a cylindrical shape.

The columns are tapered in the traditional style of the Greeks and the Romans and weigh approximately 3,260 pounds each. As in the classical tradition, the lower third of the column is cylindrical, while the top two-thirds tapers along a curved profile as it rises to the neck. Architect Stroik explains, “This technique is called entasis, and its purpose is to give the columns visual strength—an imitation of the way a person or a tree is stouter at the base than at the top. Compare a classical column with entasis to a purely cylindrical, functional, round column without it and you can see the difference.” As columns get larger the amount of entasis gets smaller, since natural perspective helps give a sense of this vertical transition. The columns of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel are 1’-7” in diameter at the base, and 1’-4 1/2” in diameter at the neck, a 2 1/2” difference in diameter.

The bases for the columns will be made of Calacatta Apuano marble, lighter in color than the Botticino columns, providing a subtle contrast of hues. The custom Corinthian capitals will be faux-painted plaster to match the bases as is traditional in many churches in Rome and in America. This technique allows the artisan to carve only one or two capitals and then reproduce others through a sophisticated casting process.

Dr. Dillon’s Role
According to Duncan Stroik, “The use of solid marble columns on the interior of the Chapel makes it unique as modern churches go, and are the vision of President Dillon.” Mr. Stroik adds, “Dr. Dillon has always had a strong view regarding the presentation of a noble simplicity of materials and colors for the Chapel, which we have tried to follow. The decision to use Botticino Classico and Calacatta Apuano marble was a long process of research, study, and visits to historic buildings.” In fact, Dr. Dillon played an integral role in the choice and creation of the columns, making two trips to Italy, once to the quarry site and another to the manufacturer. In the end, Stroik explains, “after viewing many types of marble and visiting quarries in Italy, Dr. Dillon felt, with the advice of others and my full agreement, that this was the most elegant and appropriate marble to use.”

Due to the demands of the Chapel’s construction schedule, the columns will be set in place within the interior of the Chapel prior to the construction of its roof and ceiling, an event for which design architect Stroik will be on hand. To protect the columns during the on-going construction, steel rods will be set in concrete around each column, to be removed during the final phase of building.

As the arrival of the columns indicates, construction of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel is steadily progressing. There remain numerous opportunities for individual friends of the College to participate in the funding of these columns. Gifts large and small are being received from generous benefactors and the College is most thankful for them. You are invited to add your gift to theirs, to help fully fund the columns of the Chapel. If you would like further information, please contact Mr. John Q. Masteller at (800) 634-9797.

-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2006

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