St Matthews Episcopal Cathedral

st matthews cathedral st matthews cathedral
st matthews cathedral
st matthews cathedral
st matthews cathedral
 st matthews cathedral
st matthews cathedral
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St Matthews Episcopal Cathedral

Location: Pacific Palisades, CA
Architects: Charles Moore; Moore Ruble Yudell
Photography: Timothy Hursley

In the days after a disastrous fire destroyed St. Matthew's Episcopal Church along with 86 homes in Pacific Palisades, California, the Parish decided to transform the tragedy into an opportunity to unite the church community in the act of building anew. What made this award-winning project more than a conventional exercise was the use of a radical participatory design method involving all interested parties -- architects, consultants, church elders, lay congregation representatives and members, and clergy -- in openly-conducted design charettes.

The renowned architect Charles Moore, 1991 AIA Gold Medal Recipient, and his firm, Moore Ruble Yudell, joined forces with long-time collaborator, Richard Peters, co-founder of Peters & Myer, the lighting design studio of O'Mahony & Myer, and the church community, to address all critical areas of the new church. The proposed conceptual architectural/lighting design easily achieved the two-thirds vote of the Parish, as required, for approval to proceed. Nothing was withheld from the completed installation, including the magnificent, custom-designed decorative pendant lighting fixtures, which were modeled at full scale and installed in the main worship hall, as part of an architectural mock-up, assembled for client group evaluations. The result of this uncommon effort as an exceptional lighting design, integrating custom-designed decorative lighting fixtures with natural daylighting introduced at key architectural locations.

Today St. Matthew's remains one of the most distinctive ecclesiastical interiors in the Southern California area, and an inspiring reminder of the value of open collaboration in the design process.


National Honor Award
AIA

Merit Award
AIA California Council

Merit Award
AIA Los Angeles Chapter

Featured in Lighting Spaces
Visual Reference Publications, 2007