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Project 2b is the comprehensive project for this Semester and embodies all projects given in the Studio. It allows the Students to explore the professional practice of architecture as a cyclical rather than perceived linear process. It also allows the Student to envision a mature project in their final pre-professional architectural studies. The execution of this project will also expose the Student to the simulated environment of architectural practice and its inherent collaborative methodologies and the concept of integrated design approach that demands expertise on an individual as well as collective and constructive basis.

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Saint Augustine’s Cathedral located at Cherry and Mill St, is conceived as a contemporary reinterpretation of ecclesiastical architecture. Inspired by the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, the guiding foundations of the form are based on sacred geometries and the procession of liturgy taking place. The overlapping circles of the vesica piscis in its significance as a liturgical symbol and as it relates to the works of Saint Augustine, is used throughout the conception of the entire project. In its relation to the physical context, the project is respectful to the historical nature of surrounding buildings in the Distillery District. In both height and materiality, the building reflects upon its surroundings. The natural slope of the site from north to south is utilized to create a vibrant community space that connects directly to a new park. The angular exterior and its verticality are complimented through the use of an expressed exterior structure. The ends of the building are defined by traditional notions of a bell tower and spire; however they have deviated in their form utilizing a stronger geometric translation. With the adjacent priory building, the scheme as a whole is conceived as a courtyard concept, creating two distinct buildings that are connected by a central green space and sculpture garden.