daylighting + sun control holy lights Wood beams form the canopy that filters light from the skylights into the sanctuary of Point Loma Nazarene University’s Prescott Memorial Prayer Chapel. Full-height light well fins are fitted with Viracon OptiWhite glass with simulated etching for diffusion. Humble Service on the coastal san diego campus of Point Loma Nazarene University, the minimalist profile of the Lyle and Grace Prescott Memorial Prayer Chapel by Carrier Johnson + Culture , is an unlikely study in daylighting. The 450-square-foot concrete and wood building both filters the Southern California sunlight and harnesses it to illuminate the interior, which is devoid of conventional windows. Architects BIM-modeled the structure to study how natural light could affect the interior during critical times of the day and throughout the year. In the completed building, light penetrates the lofty volume only through two 48-foot-long rows of skylights. Simulated acid etching on the glass softens the light for an ethereal effect indoors. Just below the skylights, the team suspended a filigree of crisscrossed, two-and four-foot-long redwood and cedar beams below the ceiling to further screen sunlight. The screen’s nestlike construction is a reference to Christ’s crown of thorns. A trio of prayer niches that radiate from the center of the northwest elevation are another timber element with biblical connotations: They allude to the Holy Trinity. Even here, there is no artificial light; instead, daylight is controlled by hickory-slat baffle screens that add privacy. Additional diffused illumination emanates from 17-foot-tall, southwest-facing light wells covered in the same glass as the skylights. Opposite this wall is a second “trinity” of nooks, minus the seating and baffles, that serve as light wells with fins. Angled to face northeast, they’re glazed to their full height of just over 21 feet, reaching up to the skylights. In addition to glass and timber, Carrier Johnson chose concrete as a main construction material for the exterior—not only to resist the site’s salt-water vapor, but also to symbolize a humble permanence and steadfastness, according to the architects. “The space should extend an invitation to a spiritual experience in prayer,” says design principal Gordon Carrier, FAIA, NCARB. “So, the ‘noise’ of architecture must be kept to a minimum.” By implementing a minimal palette, practicing restraint in ornamentation, and using architectural elements to diffuse and direct natural light, Carrier Johnson has succeeded in instilling the desired level of serenity.— Sheila Kim 28 | snap | july/august 2018 | architecturalrecord.com photography: © marcus emerson