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View of the chapel.
planning mirrors the role of religion at the university: behind a taller cedar-clad box, which contains service
The chapel is special and important and its presence is areas and forms a signage wall for arriving visitors. In
always felt, but it is not at the center of the complex. some locations, a line of high windows separates the roof
and wall. All of these moves might fertilize, consciously
With the exception of the chapel, the basic architectural or subconsciously, a “eureka” moment in a visitor’s
vocabulary of the center is drawn from vernacular buildings thinking, a metaphorical insight that could guide one’s
of the Shenandoah region. “Rural buildings are typical and serious, mindful consideration of a subject. Such
simple,” says Dynerman, pointing to readily recognizable moments are central to the contemplative retreat, and
archetypes such as barns and farmhouses. He saw this Dynerman’s myriad modulations of archetypal forms are
as advantageous for a retreat—people “know the kit of just the sort of thing that might nurture them.
parts, so you [the architect] play with it to heighten the
consciousness.” That is, when an archetype is simple and The complex’s palette of materials is intentionally
well-known, people notice when an aspect is changed, and neutral and simple, creating a modest backdrop for
thus even minor variations can be thought-provoking. human activity. For example, western red cedar boards,
which clad most of the buildings and some interior walls,
At the Calcagnini Center, two basic elements of the are regularized to reduce their visual prominence. At the
“kit of parts”—roofs and walls—are separated in various chapel, smooth white stucco is introduced as a second
ways. The roofs of the chapel and community center are exterior material, punctuated by small, randomly placed
big, sheltering gables, but with a twist. Dynerman intro- rectangular openings. The white walls form a tabula
duced subtle angles to the eaves, which modulate the rasa that invokes, in non-specific terms, a wide range
sense of openness and shelter. At the cabins, shed roofs of cultural references, quietly framing most any
are visually lifted over the low cedar-clad boxes of the religious exercise.
primary enclosures. At the Dining Hall, the shed roof dives
ADVANCED RETREAT 39
