Thomas Aquinas College
Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel sits at the head of Thomas Aquinas College's arcaded academic quadrangle. The symbolic placement, combined with the 135-foot bell tower's stature as the tallest structure on campus, reinforces the church's important role in college life. A statue of Mary surmounts the chapel's pediment.
Wall Section
Site Plan
Floor Plan
The building's white stucco-clad facade and terra-cotta roof tiles fit in with the aesthetic of the other campus buildings. However, for the chapel, the quality of materials was higher—for example, the roof tiles are handmade in 38 different sizes. In addition, exterior details such as moldings and engaged columns are carved out of limestone rather than cast in plaster or stucco.
The chapel arcades enclose small gardens that are open to students for quiet study and reflection. Landscaping for the gardens was a collaboration between Scott Boydstun, a principal at architect of record Rasmussen and Associates, and Dave Gaston, the college's landscaper. Craftsmen created benches, urns, and statuary that were commissioned by or gifted to the college.
Laid out in a cruciform plan, the chapel interior boasts classical details carved by hand from marble and cast from plaster. A seven-arch colonnade—with Corinthian columns designed by Stroik and an entablature of faux blue marble—runs down either side of the nave, framing relief sculptures depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross in the side aisles. Light filters in through clerestory windows and oculi in the large Brunelleschi-esque dome that precedes the chapel's centerpiece: a 34-foot-tall baldachino inspired by Bernini's baroque masterpiece at St. Peter's in Rome.
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View of nave from altar
Corinthian column capitals
Statue of St. Augustine
