A NEW CHAPEL
for GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY
Architecture services by Soderstrom Architects
Andrew Burke, AIA Principal-in-Charge
Andrew Blumm, AIA Project Architect
Completed in Spring 2024, this 7,500-square-foot chapel synthesizes the robust, sheltering forms of cathedral architecture with the delicate timber filigree characteristic of Fay Jones' sacred spaces. The design seamlessly integrates with George Fox University's existing campus through carefully selected brick matching the established palette, while creating a distinctly spiritual presence. Fourteen stained glass panels flank the nave, and a large stained glass cross behind the altar frames eastern views toward the rising sun and Hess Creek's wooded landscape beyond.
A gated contemplative garden to the south features a thirteen-foot hand-carved stone cross from Ireland, offering students a place for quiet reflection. Inside, soaring timber trusses create an atmosphere of transcendence through structure alone—wood joinery ascending heavenward while maintaining intimate human scale. Light filters through colored glass, animating the interior throughout the day. The chapel honors centuries of sacred building tradition while serving the contemporary spiritual life of the university community.