Work on the addition to the Church of the Heavenly Rest campus is underway. Commissioned to design a new building, Gerhart Hall, we saw an opportunity to create a new heart for the church campus while re-working the circulation of cars and pedestrians. The strategic placement of the new Gerhart Hall transforms an L-shape building wing into a U-shape, creating a welcoming interior central courtyard.
The original architect of the church, Philip Frohman, built over 50 churches and cathedrals in the United States over the course of his career. These famously included the grand Washington National Cathedral. The Church of the Heavenly Rest, a smaller project in Abilene, Texas still received the gift of his skill and careful attention. He designed the original structure with load-bearing Texas Leuders limestone. The new Gerhart Hall maintains the beautiful and complex limestone exterior, while speeding up construction by buttressing the structure with a steel frame. Once the steel structure is complete, the stone masonry and timber trusses, detailed to match the church, will be put in place and the new will blend seamlessly with the old. As the Church of the Heavenly Rest’s campus grows to support its community, it continues to honor tradition and its architectural origins.
West foyer structural steel frame view looking down cloister.
West foyer structural steel frame.
The Church of the Heavenly Rest original building under construction in the 1950s
The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, aerial view drawing
The stair at the recently-completed Meadow Lake Residence is based on a Robert Adam precedent, specifically the stairs at Osterley Park. In our design, the stair’s hand-wrought spindles are steel, with polished brass accents and a white oak handrail. A subdued floral motif makes up the ornamentation and their individual forms are dimensional; the curling leaf is thicker than the flower creating a hint of shadow.
Happy birthday Robert Adam! This week we celebrate the captivating work of a great architect.
Robert Adam, born on July 3rd in 1728, began his career in architecture as an apprentice to his father, William Adam, taking over the family business after his father’s death. Commissioned in 1762 to design the interiors of Syon House, Adam’s iconic architectural style is exhibited in Syon’s Great Hall. He believed deeply in the careful juxtaposition of various architectural forms and styles, including neoclassical, byzantine and baroque, culminating in an effect he called “movement”.
Architects centuries later are still inspired by Adam’s work. At the Inwood Pool Pavilion, we pay homage to Robert Adam’s great hall at Syon House, drawing from its geometry, ornamentation, and flooring.
