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St. Mark's Cathedral Renovations

  • LEAD ARCHITECT
  • Jim Olson, FAIA (view bio)
  • LOCATION & YEAR
  • Seattle, WA, 1997

Poject Details

When construction was halted by the depression, no one envisioned it would take another 50 years to begin completion of this stately cathedral. No longer meeting liturgical and functional needs, the new work includes a large, 21-foot-diameter window as part of the newly clad west wall designed to limit direct western light and create a new focal point for the cathedral. In addition, a glass and steel reredos, extending 57 feet from floor to ceiling, was inserted just inside the west wall. Seen together, the reredos and window create a three-dimensional interpretation of a traditional rose window, while the residual space between the two elements becomes a small chapel.