By Simon Kaufman, Partners for Sacred Places
Both this landmark 1894 church and the adjacent parish house, were designated as Chicago Landmarks in 2017. With funding from the Parish House sale, the diocese launched a rejuvenation project to integrate all parish house functions into the church building.
Faithful restoration of the exterior was required. The congregation elected to respect the historic interior, while introducing compatible and reversible modifications, presenting an exciting challenge for the design team. Workshops with parishioners gathered perspectives, thoughts, and desires related to historic material conservation, liturgical practices, and functional adjacencies. The first phase of a master plan focused on implementing upgrades to expedite reoccupation, while introducing compatible yet reversible modifications and creating a broader programmatic framework to guide future work.