Cathedral of Christ the Light : By SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Oakland, California, United States
SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Post By:Kitticoon Poopong

Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley
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Throughout time, cathedrals have signified some of the human race’s most awe-inspiring architectural endeavors.

Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Continuing this trend, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill recently completed construction on their incredible Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. If you have been searching for religious -or architectural- inspiration, check out their awe-inspiring cathedral. The stunning structure makes beautiful use of glass, fly ash concrete, and fsc-certified wood, but we were most impressed by its incredible use of natural light. SOM is well known for its work on many other large projects such as offices, airports, islands, museums, and skyscrapers.

Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Craig Hartman, the lead architect for this project, says he “couldn’t imagine a more important commission than to design a cathedral.” Cathedrals of this magnitude are not often built, so to be chosen to build one among many other qualified architects is truly an honor. The Diocese’s main focus for the design was its use of daylighting. Hartman proposed that light would be the key “to create a contemporary design that was still evocative of the Church’s two millennium-old traditions.” To achieve this heavenly goal, Hartman consulted his retired SOM partner, Walter Netsch, who designed the 1950s Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy, which is also well known for its use of light.

Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of John Blaustein

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SOM‘s Cathedral goes against the classical design of cathedrals and basilicas, which take the form of a cross with the altar placed at the intersection. Hartman wanted a more modern structure that embodied the community, so they placed the altar in the center surrounded by seating. Circular motifs play and important role in the design, especially the outside structure, which funnels up 12 stories towards a glass oculus roof. The skylight focuses light onto the center altar, allows views of the sky, and is also part of the unique passive cooling system. The system uses natural convection to cool air as it rises up through floor vents and out through openings in the oculus.

Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Additional sustainable features of the building include the extensive use of natural light to cut back on energy use during the day. The structure’s concrete was formed using fly ash and contributes thermal mass for heating and cooling. Finally the beautiful woodwork provides warmth to the building and came from FSC certified Douglas Fir. The Diocese asked that the Cathedral be built to stand the test of time for at least 300 years, and it is also seismically outfitted to withstand a significant earthquake.

Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Structural description

The main Cathedral superstructure consists of a hybrid structural system of reinforced concrete, pre-fabricated glued laminated wood timber members, high-strength structural steel rods paired with glued laminated wood compression struts, and a steel friction-pendulum seismic base isolation system. The superstructure is supported atop an eighteen-foot-high mausoleum substructure of reinforced concrete extending to a reinforced concrete mat foundation.

Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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A landscaped public plaza, accessible from all directions, firmly links the center with the city’s commercial downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Within the cathedral, the experience of light and space, rather than traditional iconography, instills a deep sense of sacredness.

Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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The Cathedral honors the devotion and craftsmanship that unifies the world’s great religious landmarks, using advanced technologies to achieve a luminous and evocative architecture with modest materials while minimizing the building’s ecological footprint.

Photo © Courtesy of John Blaustein

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of John Blaustein

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Omega Window

Behind the altar, the Omega Window incorporates one of the cathedral’s most dramatic elements: a reinterpretation of a 12th-century depiction of Christ rendered in anodized aluminum panels and 94,000 pixel-like perforations using a custom-programmed digital process. In keeping with the cathedral’s elemental nature, the striking presence of the 58-foot-tall image relies simply on the play of light penetrating through the different sized perforations.

Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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Photo © Courtesy of Timothy Hursley

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The Cathedral of Christ the Light has already won several design awards, including a 2009 AIA National Honor Award, and has received recognition in notable publications. The New Yorker’s Paul Goldberger included the Cathedral in his list of 2008’s ten best works of architecture, stating:

Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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Photo © Courtesy of César Rubio

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The site for the Catholic Cathedral is the location of the old St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, which was irreparably damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The Cathedral of Christ the Light is home to the Oakland Diocese, the Bishop and over 500,000 parishioners. Construction began in 2005 and was just recently completed, with the Cathedral scheduled to be dedicated and consecrated on Thursday, September 25th in a private service. It will be open to the public for a special mass on Friday at 10 am, and regular weekend service will begin on Sunday.

situation plan--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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floor plan--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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floor plan--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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section--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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section--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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structure diagram--drawing © Courtesy of SOM-Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 

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The people
Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Location: 2121 Harrison St, Oakland, California, United States
Design Team: Craig Hartman, FAIA, Design Partner / Gene Schnair, FAIA, Managing Partner / Keith Boswell, AIA, Technical Director / Raymond Kuca, AIA, Project Manager / Patrick Daly, AIA, Senior Design Architect / Eric Keune, AIA / Lisa Gayle Finster, AIA / Christopher Kimball / Jane Lee / Christina Kyrillou / Elizabeth Valadez / Denise Hall Montgomery / Mariah Neilson / Peter Jackson / Surjanto / Gary Rohrbacher / Ayumi Sugiyama / Liang Wu / Katie Motchen / Matthew Tierney / Henry Vlanin
Structural Engineering: Mark Sarkisian, PE, SE, Structural Engineering Director / Peter Lee, PE, SE, Senior Structural Engineer / Eric Long, PE, Senior Structural Engineer / Aaron Mazeika, PE, AP / William Bond / Ernest Vayl / Feliciano Racines / Jean-Pierre Michel Chakar / Lindsay Hu / Rupa Garai / Sarah Diegnan
Interior Design: Tamara Dinsmore, Chanda Capelli, Susanne LeBlanc, Carmen Carrasco, David Lou
General Contractor: Webcor Builders

Owner: Catholic Diocese of Oakland
Projects representatives: Bishop Allen H. Vigneron, Provost Father Paul Minnihan, Project Director John L. McDonnell Jr.
Technical Coordinator: David Diamond, AIA
Environmental Graphics: Lonny Israel, Alan Sinclair
Digital Design Coordinator: Douglas Smith, Associate AIA
Architect of Record: Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc., Houston
Mausoleum Contractor: Oliver + Co.
Construction and Program Management: Conversion Management Associates, Inc. (CMA, Inc.)
Landscape Architect: Peter Walker and Partners
Electrical Engineering: The Engineering Enterprise
Mechanical Engineering: Taylor Engineering, LLC
Civil Engineering: Korve Engineering
Consultants: Claude R. Engle, Lighting / Shen Milsom & Wilke, Inc., Acoustics / Brother William Woeger, Liturgical Art / Auerbach Pollack Friedlander, Theater / C.S. Caulkins Co., Inc., Building Maintenance / Schoenstein & Co., Consultant / Letourneau Pipe Organs Ltd., Construction, Organ / HMA Consulting Inc., Security / Persohn/Hahn Associates, Inc., Elevator / Rolf Jensen & Associates, Code / Treadwell & Rollo, Soils / Cini-Little International, Inc., Foodservice

Design start: 2002
Construction Complete: 2008
Site Area: 2.50 acres
Constructed Area: 20,996 sqm
Photographs: César Rubio, Timothy Hursley, John Blaustein

Note>>Location in this map, It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

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