The US studio Trahan Architects has placed a circular chapel with a brick front wall and a cross-beam structure at the University of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Trahan Architects, with offices in New Orleans and New York, completed the 4,620-square-foot (430-square meter) Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and the Tom Benson Jesuit Center in 2025 at Loyola University.
Trahan Architects designed the chapel to embody Loyola’s fundamental mission – to develop every person in the care of mind, body and spirit – through its experience, sequence and form while adhering to the context of the campus.
“Its minimalist sensibility provides a soothing backdrop that reflects the church’s richly handcrafted furnishings, custom furnishings, sculptures and the spirit of all who enter,” the studio told Dezeen.
The church sits at the center of campus using hand-made bricks from San Anselmo, Italy to blend in with the red brick of the surrounding modern, Gothic and Tudor buildings.
The terracotta base and light gray glazed facade make the chapel stand out from its neighbors from a distance, but as visitors approach, the similarities of the chapel and its essence – such as the basketweave of the bricks and its deep red colors – reveal themselves.
“Its handmade quality relates to the time of St Ignatius’ conversion from his famous time of isolation and prayer in the cave of Manresa,” explains the studio.
The team planned the cylindrical form so that the entry points connect to the existing pattern of the campus, and the circular form invites people to enter, leaving a space within the urban grid.
“Its approach and material aims to engage all students, faculty and visitors, with a sense of mystery, texture and harmonious contrast between the surrounding buildings,” said the studio.
“The presence of this modest, but small, building is surprising at first, but softens as one approaches.”
Under the brick pillar, the transverse wooden frame – the first in the state of Louisiana, according to the studio – creates a series of circular spaces that refer to the traditional axial plan of the church but in favor of balance over positions with close meeting points.
“These circles intersect to create sacred doorways with the symbol vesica pisces and a procession of openings guided by light and scale,” the studio said.
“These boundaries are in many ways as important as the spaces themselves – they are moments of revolutionary spirit.”
Rather than having a series of fixed pews facing the altar, the chapel is designed to be flexible with movable pews that can be arranged under a circular skylight that adds to the natural light that washes in from the large, intentional opening in the front yard.
The interior finishes prioritizing visual and audible silence.
“Made of basic materials – white gypsum walls, polished concrete floors and a subtle neutral fabric covering the walls of the sanctuary – its small character is a subtle animated canvas for visitors,” the studio said.
“Their clothing, skin tone, movements, celebrations, objects, all contribute to a palette other than architecture that dominates their experience of calm and faith.”
Previously, Trahan Architects completed a “massive yet modest” exhibition stadium in Osaka, Japan, a “weightless” hand-bent steel stadium in Arkansas and the restoration of the Superdome in New Orleans.
Photo by Tim Hursley.
Project credits:
Builder:Trahan Architects
Project team:Trey Trahan, Brad McWhirter, Robbie Eleazer, Conner Bryan, David Sweere, Charles Weimer, James Babin, Jarri Hasnain, Nader Wallerich, Ryan Barnette, Sheena Garcia
Contractor:MAPP Construction
Country builder:Spackman Mossop Michaels (SMM)
Structural engineer:Morphy Makofsky, Inc.
MEP Engineer:Introba (Formerly Integral Group)
Acoustic & AV:Threshold Acoustics
Cost estimation:Cost+Plus
Lighting design:Tillotson Design Associates
Client representative:The Tobler Company