CHAPEL, BON SECOURS PRIVATE HOSPITAL, GALWAY

The chapel is designed as an oasis perched away from the normal hustle and bustle of the hospital’s daily routine and, simultaneously, as a focal point for the day hospital. Accommodating a congregation of between 35-40 people, the chapel is located within a courtyard setting, lying along the main hospital circulation axis. The design sets out to achieve a literal and spiritual space within which all of the needs of the hospital community are allowed room to breathe. In contrast to the functionality of the hospital’s rectilinear forms, the chapel is enclosed by two curved walls, metaphorically derived from ripples created from stones cast into a body of water, orientated on an East-West axis.

To the East a 4.8 metre tall by 11 metre long curved glass wall depicts the liturgical cycle in a painting by Hughie O’Donoghue. The glass wall is made up of nine panels of curved glass with each segment derived from two radii. By using two radii only two glass moulds were needed, allowing the glass wall to be curved in two directions to form a sense of enclosure. High resolution photographic images of Hughie’s work were sandwiched between two sheets of curved glass 4.8 metres tall. As the day progresses the sun’s rays hit the wall at different angles illuminating the individual elements of the story until dusk. As night falls, artificial light within the chapel illuminates the glass wall and the liturgical cycle is interpreted externally.

To the West a curved concrete wall encloses the building. Measuring 4.5 metres high by 18 metres long the wall was cast in a single pour of concrete. The exterior face of the wall has a timber impression, achieved by fixing shot blasted Douglas Fir timber cut to profile to the external shutter. After the formwork was struck, the timber shuttering was cleaned down and reused internally as wall cladding.

The contrasting sides of the chapel reflect the life cycle. The joy of new life, the rays of the rising sun penetrating into the chapel core and continually illuminate Hughie O’Donoghue’s painting until, as with life, the brightness of the sun’s rays can no longer shine and only shadows remain. The concrete wall has a timber grain cast into its solid mass and is impenetrable to light. The flowing wall of glass and concrete reflect movement and eddies as if created by moving water, a symbol of the healing process. The chapel in its completed state is a space where staff, patients and visitors alike can contemplate and relax.