The Chapel of St. Albert the Great

What is so wonderful about Doors Open Days is the opportunity it affords members of the public to access buildings they would normally walk past without a backward glance. So many places into which we can walk for just a few hours each year, peeling back often faceless facades to reveal a wealth of hidden history and culture just a step or two from the pavement. I love discovering these places, scratching below the surface to see what makes a city tick, what links the past with the present, tradition with new idealogy and modern thought.
One of the most inspiring places is the Chapel of St. Albert the Great in George Square. Since 1931 the Dominican community at St. Albert's Catholic Chaplaincy has been providing an independent chaplaincy service to Edinburgh University. The Chapel began life in a converted drawing room in an 18th century townhouse in George Square, an area holding the enviable distinction of being the oldest Georgian Square in Edinburgh. Its most redeeming feature was a stunning bay window which flooded the room with afternoon light. However, with the need for disabled access, increased capacity and more favourable ventilation, a new chapel was built
in the back garden to satisfy these conditions. Although
initially a very ornate affair, the 1960s saw the chapel stripped back to its original scotch pine wooden floor, off-white walls and plain glass windows. And through one of these windows a sycamore tree, well-established after decades of growth, dominated the view. A natural indicator of the changing seasons and the passage of light from day into night, it became a focus for prayer and contemplation.  From this picture of nature at its most beautiful grew the idea of a green chapel, a place to worship at one with the world around it. And no doubt St. Albert the Great, a natural scientist from the Middle Ages, would have given his seal of approval to the breathtaking chapel we now see today.
Barely visible from the street, the Chapel of St. Albert the Great is simplistic yet effective, a clever use of wood echoing the beauty of the sycamore. The roof appears to float motionless above the glass sanctuary wall, yet in reality is gracefully held by four Corten steel "trees" reflecting the genuine articles. The chapel overflows with natural materials, light and airy yet full of illusion. A solid stone altar with its carved cross, a hand carved Flemish Madonna and Child, a carved wooden processional cross standing behind the altar, a "distressed" water stoop by the entrance, all these add delightful touches whilst at the same time blending with the symmetry of the Chapel.
Calm, serene, a place of worship in the midst of a city, the Dominican Friars at its heart, this is a truly awe-inspiring building, a place to think, to pray, to wonder, to embrace ....... and long may it continue in its simplistic state, at one with God and his creations.