October_1967 — Page 25

with gold and white marbleing dom- inate the floors, except in the sanc- tuary and the nave areas, which are in beige with red and white marble. ing.

Translucent plastic panels compose the ceiling over the sanctuary. With the plastic panels concealing rows of fluorescent lamps, the area is given the effect of a continuous one-piece lighting system. The rest of the ceil- ing is in acoustic boards over mineral wool insulation for reduction of rever- beration.

An interesting attribute which makes the chapel unique in this part of the world, although it is peculiar to military chapels, is its flexibility to serve different faiths. Its sanctuary, the area where the altar is located, is designed to facilitate quick and easy changes from one setting to another. Within a few minutes after a Protes- tant service, the altar can be set up for a Catholic mass or a Jewish ser- vice, or vice versa.

The marble altar rolls in or out of sight by means of casters and tracks. Religious statues are mounted on rotating panels so that they can be concealed or revealed by swinging the panels in the appropriate direction. The Protestant cross and the Catholic crucifix are suspended by cords at- tached to rollers on overhead rails. In this way, either one can be pulled into an exposed or covered position. A curtain system facilitates other changes.

Because it will serve different faiths, the chapel does not feature any per- manent religious symbol which would associate it with any of the faiths. Even the patterns of colours on the

Roof A-frames under construction

Balcony

UPPER PART OF NAVE

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Facade

Far East Architect & Builder October, 1967

A.A

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