Worship Architectural Wonders
Three awe-inspiring temples for design pilgrims By Katherine Ashenburg
Image credit: Hasnain Dattu
Hidden away in the base- ment of Massey College, St. Catherine’s Chapel (above) is a departure from Ron Thom’s modernist architecture that is both dramatic and solacing. When the Massey family insisted on a chapel for the University of Toronto’s new graduate college, Robertson Davies, the founding master, engaged Tanya Moiseiwitsch, the designer responsible for Stratford’s thrust stage. She obliged with a low-ceilinged, dimly lit room that seats 40, and where all eyes go to the Russian icon screen that hangs above the altar. Painted in the 17th century and peopled with prophets, apostles and saints, it mesmerizes, quietly.
In 2006, architects Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe swept out the cobwebs from Moiseiwitsch’s design while emphasizing its Russian bones. To her white oak arches they added a handcrafted oak ceiling. They warmed up the wall behind the altar to a rich blue, so the icon screen floats against a brooding, celestial sky. The result is part womb, part catacomb, part Russian country chapel. Massey College, 4 Devonshire Pl., 416-978‑2895. Tell the porter that you are visiting the chapel; its entrance is at the northwest corner of the quadrangle.
Comments
Comment on this story
Neither Katherine Ashenburg nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy
Some articles on this site require that you have a Torontolife.com account in order to comment, and this is one of them. If you do not have an account, you can register now.
