School is out of session for the summer, but Vassar College’s new Center for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices is on our minds after a recently completed project from L.E.FT Architects restored the existing Pratt House into a campus hub for student’s wellness and intellectual growth.

Their adaptive reuse of the 109-year-old building turned its three-story Gothic Revival structure into a home for the office and their mission to serve twelve religious and spiritual student groups at Vassar. In what was originally the college warden’s residence, a new kind of space has evolved. In it, the architects say, the restrictive “dichotomies” dividing religious and secular life in America are dissolved into a communal space imbued with tolerance and the desire to enact change.

“The conversations that resulted between the diverse and sometimes theologically-opposed participants were dynamic yet respectful, and helped formulate new interpretations of sacrality, spirituality, and iconography,” says L.E.FT partner Ziad Jamaleddine. “The design’s primary strategy was one of un-doing.”

Furniture is used proactively to transform the interiors into a better configurable combination of spaces distinct from the house’s traditional architecture and appearance. 

The removal of the second-floor slab, addition of a punched-in skylight, and elevator shaft replacement also lent to the building’s flexibility while making it more accessible to users. Other interventions include the creation of a processional meditation labyrinth connecting to the Center's outer grounds, made from repurposed building materials left over from previous construction.

This work was carried out largely without major changes to the red brick exterior. ADA compliance was prioritized throughout the design, as evidenced by the new double-height ablution room, which the firm notes is the first of its kind in the United States. 

Special built-ins such as these and the new multi-denominational prayer rug had to be included to bolster the liturgical needs of the Center. The flooring was the final area of focus for the design team, resulting in a two-toned "stitched" composition that relates old to new as the hands of building stewardship likewise shift and change to a new generation.

Overall, this is a hybrid and "acupunctural" approach to repurposing an existing piece of campus architecture that keeps with a long tradition of reusing religious buildings. The result left behind a "layered condition of interwoven spaces and religious practices" for a new generation increasingly curious to find spiritual solutions to issues extending far beyond their lives in Poughkeepsie.

Revisit our conversation with Jamaleddine and fellow L.E.FT co-founder Makram el Kadi, which touched on conflicting religious and political contexts, in our 2018 Studio Snapshot profile.