Jane E. Lee

THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE LIGHT - AN INTRODUCTION

My history with this project spans the last three years of construction through completion.  When I joined the project team, construction had already started, and foundations and sub-basements were well underway.  The internal SOM team had shrunk to the project manager and myself for the majority of this period, so I was ideally positioned to have a broad scope of responsibility over the main cathedral building as it began to emerge from the ground. 

SITE

Getting to the project site from San Francisco requires only a short trip across the Bay Bridge and the ease of access afforded me a way to spend much more time on the construction site than had become standard for the largely international projects SOM-SF was working on at the time.  

The project is located on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, which is separated from city of San Francisco by a short trip across the the San Francisco Bay.  The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 damaged the St. Francis de Sales Cathedral of Oakland beyond repair and by 2000, the diocese concluded that a new cathedral should be built.  After sponsoring an invited competition, the selection committee eventually awarded the commission to SOM and construction began in 2005.  

The project location on Lake Merritt in Oakland establishes a tidy series of real and metaphorical links from the Cathedral to the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond.  A series of culverts connect the lake to the bay which then opens to the Pacific Ocean at the Golden Gate Bridge - an apt reflection of the nesting relationships that span from the local to global arenas that establish and reflect the community that comprises this very diverse diocese.  

The Cathdral is the primary focus of a small complex of buildings which include a rectory, multipurpose space, store, cafe, and masoleum.  Access to the site is fluid - taking advantage of existing public transportation routes and pedestrian plazas from adjacent buildings.  The complex is built into a site with a slight grade and takes advantage of a plinth to extend an existing urban plaza to elevate the visitor above the street level and provide an unobstructed vista of the lake.  The Cathedral itself rotates off the axis of the city grid at the entry, re-orienting the building to address the view of Lake Merrit and the open waters beyond.

CONCEPT

The conceptual design of the Cathedral emerges from a number of conversations on both sacred geometries and the desire to evoke a sense of spirituality from the careful manipulation of light and material. 

Formally, the shape of the sanctuary is created by the negative space that results from the intersection of two spheres.  The curved vaults of the interior are reflected again within the lines of a curvilinear plan which is meant to be read as a vesica piscis – a symbol often used in Christian art and architecture. 

Crafting the ambiance of the interior experience of the cathedral evolved from the desire to evoke the quality of light that one experiences when sunlight streams through the canopy of trees – dappled, diaphanous, diffused, ethereal, were oft-used descriptors, internally.

As such, the project relies on a semi-translucent envelope, a simple materials palette, and a series of formal refinements to the interior that are meant to sculpt the interaction of light with the interior space and create a heightened experience for the visitor. These include:

• Concrete Reliquary Walls and Chapels
• Glue-lam superstructure
• Alpha and Omega Walls
• Oculus Ceiling
• Reredos Wall
• Organ and Organ Shelf

Each of these elements also encompasses a distinct exploration of the design-to-construction process that is explored further in the menu tab "The Cathedral Under Construction".