Chapel of St Joseph, Illinois Lady of Guadalupe, Chicago Place of Worship, USA Building Interior News
Chapel of St Joseph in Des Plaines
post updated March 20, 2024
Design: Wheeler Kearns Architects
Location: Lady of Guadalupe, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA
Chapel of St Joseph at Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, IL, designed by Chicago-based firm Wheeler Kearns Architects.
Photos by Tom Harris Photography
July 30, 2020
Chapel of St Joseph
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 its resources to elevate the spiritual experience of visiting pilgrims. The space hosts over 6,000 worshippers on a weekend and over 300,000 pilgrims during the annual Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration in December.
Design: Wheeler Kearns Architects
Photos: Tom Harris Photography
Chapel of St Joseph in Des Plaines, Illinois images / information received 300720 from Wheeler Kearns Architects, Chicago, USA
Location: Lady of Guadalupe, Des Plaines, Illinois, United States of America
Architecture in Illinois
Contemporary Architecture in Illinois
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep, Waukegan
Architects: JGMA
photo : Dimitre Photography Inc.
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep, Waukegan IL
East St. Louis High School
Design: Ittner Architects
photo : Aaron Gipperich Photography
East St. Louis High School in Illinois
The Table at Crate, Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook
Architects: Cushing Terrell
photo : Paul Schlismann
The Table at Crate, Oak Brook
I Hotel Conference Center, Urbana
Design: Cordogan Clark
photo : James Steinkamp
I Hotel Conference Center, Urbana
USA Architectural Designs
Neighbouring State/Country Architecture to Illinois
Illinois Office Building : HSBC North American Headquarters, Mettawa
Comments / photos for the Chapel of St Joseph in Des Plaines, Illinois building design by Wheeler Kearns Architects page welcome
Website: The American Institute of Architects
