Oakland’s Luminous New Cathedral
THE ALPHA AND OMEGA WALLS:
The south and north walls, respectively called the Alpha and Omega walls, symbolize the beginning and the end of life. The walls are concave in both plan and section and taper to a point at the top The walls are composed of a grid of clear laminated glass panels attached on the interior to a framework of galvanized steel tubes. The panels have extruded aluminum frames and are supported on point connections. Although the walls are trapezoidal in shape, their complex geometry resulted in diagonal center-folds for each panel, which gave them a triangular shape.
Photograph by Sally B. Woodbridge
The Alpha, or entrance, wall has a two-inch thick inner layer of perforated aluminum panels connected to aluminum clips. The panels are attached to the steel structure with varying angles of openness that permit them to reflect daylight to the interior.
Photograph from SOM
Although the Omega wall behind the altar contains the same perforated aluminum panels as the Alpha wall, they are more closely spaced to provide a continuous backdrop for the altar. An image of Christ taken from a carved stone relief in Chartres Cathedral in France was digitized and projected onto the wall panels and rendered as pixilated holes of varying sizes in the aluminum panels. When lit from behind, the viewer inside will behold an approximately 100-foot-high image of Christ on the Omega wall.
THE RELIQUARY WALL:
The layered exterior wall rises above a fifteen-foot high concrete Reliquary Wall, twelve feet wide at its base and nine feet wide at the top. Spaces for small chapels and functions such as bathrooms and fire exits have been carved out of its interior. Openings in the wall on axis with aisles leading to the altar admit morning daylight, which is projected onto the cathedral’s main floor.
