Salisbury School Chapel
Salisbury, CT
11,000 s.f.
Cost: $5.5 million
Photos: John Gruen
Construction Completed 2024
Chapel is a part of daily life for students at the Salisbury School, an institution proud of its religious traditions, but with a tight squeeze to fit the whole school community inside, a failing heating system and no accessible bathrooms, the school decided it was time to renovate their place of fellowship and worship. We developed a design that added additional seating and more natural light as well as a more intuitive and welcoming entry sequence. A new narthex added to the front of the building serves as a gathering place for students before entering the chapel. Once inside the sanctuary, students are greeted by more natural light from new and enlarged wood curtainwalls at the sides and behind the chancel. A new balcony provides much needed overflow seating and also breaks up the cavernous volume of the interior. A new pew configuration on the main floor brings the community closer to each other and to the speaker, without breaking out of the existing shell of the building. A new elevator provides access for all to the new Center for Spiritual Development as well as renovated classrooms and new restrooms. A new state of the art heating cooling and ventilation system, along with added insulation makes the building more comfortable and environmentally friendly.