Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein

Sisters Chapel at Spelman College

Atlanta, Georgia

Sisters Chapel was designed by the renowned architectural firm of Heinz Reid and Adler in 1924. The exterior is a classic temple form with a grand portico sitting on the central quadrangle of the historic Spelman College campus. The interior worship space is a simple, beautifully proportioned space with an elliptical vaulted ceiling, classic moldings, and amber glass arched windows. The stage is semi - circular with a quarter dome plaster ceiling framed by a heavy moulding and keystone.

The rehabilitation has restored the historic finishes including cork flooring, plaster walls, terrazzo floors and marble stairs at the entrance lobbies, and detailed woodwork throughout. New heating and cooling systems were sensitively added, ductwork hidden in new enormous trenches beneath the floor slab and in the original attic space. The building had little interior space available for new systems and an addition to the pure temple form would have been unacceptable, so an underground vault was constructed adjacent to the Chapel housing most of the mechanical and electrical equipment for the building. Great care was taken in the design of the systems to not adversely affect the aesthetics or acoustics of the space.

The building's first public restrooms were discreetly added in the entrance lobbies. The building is now handicapped accessible and meets current life-safety requirements. The step up to the original front doors was eliminated by raising the level of the stone portico to the entrance lobby level. The limestone on the new surface matches the original stone and pattern. A new step was added to the perimeter of the portico matching the decorative bullnose on the original stairs.

The original plaster ceiling was laminated with acoustical tiles in the 1950's deadening the acoustics of the space, but solving sound focusing issues created by the elliptical shape of the vault. The ceiling was reconstructed and refinished with a contemporary acoustical product with the appearance of the original plaster ceiling yet provides sound absorption at the tightest portion of the curve to eliminate focusing while allowing the remainder of the ceiling to be sound reflective. This solution restores the appearance of the ceiling and solved an inherent acoustical problem with the shape of the historic ceiling.

The huge Chapel windows were carefully removed and stripped and refurbished off-site. The original glass was numbered and retained. Replacement glass was obtained from the same manufacturer of the original glass. The original chandeliers and wall sconces were refurbished, and an additional tier of lights was added to the chandeliers. Contemporary lighting was discreetly added to enhance the minimal original lighting and provide versatility for the variety of functions and audio visual presentations that take place in the Chapel today.

To accommodate the need for additional seating in the Chapel, the original balcony was entirely restructured and expanded. The face of the balcony and the rear wall of the Chapel were reconstructed matching original moulding details. The new balcony also accommodates the controls for the extensive audio-visual system to support audio visual presentations, video taping of events, and TV broadcasting of the renowned Spelman Morehouse Christmas Concert. The Chapel is a solid masonry building with few cavities for concealing conduits, but all aspects of the new system are concealed, including a new projection screen that slips behind an enclosure in the ceiling at the face of the stage.

The copper roof has been replaced with a new copper roof, new internal gutters, and new downspouts. The original decorative frieze was retained, repaired and painted. The original brick and stone details were cleaned and required minor repointing.

Beneath the Chapel, the original basement space was transformed by the addition of a lower level terrace that provides natural light to the space and a welcoming entrance. The space is a multi-purpose, multi-faith space to be used for a variety of functions and to serve as pre-function space for Chapel performances and presentations.

All Images © Gabriel Benzur Photography