St Paul’s School Chapels

St Paul’s School Chapel’s

The renovation of the two chapels at St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH), was one of Catherine’s earliest Preservation projects while at Ann Beha Architects. The main chapel (The Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul) is considered the heart of the school, where the entire school gathers for meetings and assemblies, as well as concerns and other activities. The impressive gothic revival building suffered from a number of issues which the project sought to address – on the exterior, the brick and brownstone had areas of vegetation and biological grown, spalling brick and stone, and efflorescence. The roof leaked in a few locations and some slates were damaged, while parapet walls and flashings were failing. The building was not fully ADA accessible on either the exterior or interior, and it needed major system improvements to the electrical and plumbing, including adding sprinklers. On the interior, the lighting, acoustics, and AV systems needed work, and many of the interior materials required conservation, restoration, or replacement. The team also added an accessible bathroom, and modified the altar to reflect a shift in the relationship of chaplain to congregation. The school also asked the team to undertake studies to expand the seating capacity through the addition of various balcony options; theses were not undertaken in the final project. The Old Chapel underwent a similar evaluation and set of upgrades. The extensive report produced about the project is attached here. Catherine was the lead designer and project manager on the project while at Ann Beha Architects. show PDF