St. Olaf College
Boe Memorial Chapel Renovation
Northfield, Minnesota

A complete interior renovation of St. Olaf's Boe Memorial Chapel improved lighting, acoustics, site lines and liturgical/performance space. This 1954 Norman Gothic Chapel was built to replace Hoyme Chapel, which had been destroyed by fire. Boe Memorial Chapel's original configuration was sufficient for the St. Olaf orchestra and four choirs at the time. Six decades later, the once-adequate Chapel could not accommodate the expanded music program's eight choirs, two orchestras and two bands in multiple-choir and orchestra-band events.

A well-programmed 2005 renovation gave Boe Memorial Chapel the enhanced site lines, flexible space, focused lighting and warm, full acoustics to please audiences and meet the College's needs for many years. The project included a new state of the art, digitally aimed sound system and major architectural changes to the ceiling. These design elements greatly improved the projection of both spoken voice and music, solving a decades-old acoustical problem.