After 12 years as a professional drummer, Rick Joy knows the key to making powerful music: not playing a note. "The silence in great music is often more profound than the sounds," he says. "The simplest things can evoke the deepest feelings."

That sense of simplicity and spirituality made him the top choice for designing the university's new chapel, scheduled to open in 2008. Joy, who won a 2004 National Design Award, was selected for the project last year from more than 20 nationally renowned architects.

Creating a Sacred Space
Joy's goal is to create a space that is "calming, serene and quiet, where . a sensory ‘tuning in’ occurs." To accomplish that, he is collaborating with an expert from Norway to integrate natural light into the building. He also plans to emphasize water - a poignant religious symbol - both inside and out. And he'll juxtapose the inner sanctuary with an outdoor one that includes quiet tree-covered nooks.

Joy's preliminary plans, which are currently being reviewed by the university's Board of Trustees, capture the university's identity, says Father Rick Wilkinson, CSC, director of Campus Ministry. "We had a sense that Rick Joy knew who we were before ever meeting us," he says. "He could articulate the idea of a sacred space, a place of prayer that will welcome human experience and call us to the center of ourselves. We will bring our lives there, our joys and sorrows."

The Heart of Campus
The chapel's location - nestled in a central pedestrian corridor between residence halls and the new John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center - will complement the building's simplicity. In addition, the site is easily accessible to students, faculty, staff and the community.

"That's by design," says Dave Dickson, vice president of Financial Affairs. "The chapel will fit the character of campus, but it won't be exactly like other buildings. It will be a reflective, quiet, safe place for members of the university community to be rejuvenated, even if they're just walking by."

A Refuge from the World
In short, says Father Rick, the new chapel will be a refuge: "We're so battered by our world, with cell phones, iPods, traffic, constant activity and noise. We're inundated. In the chapel we'll be able to examine our lives in a healthy, holistic way; we'll live in the present moment for and with God, and away from distractions."

Make a gift to the chapel today. Read more about the fundraising effort for a new chapel.