Fairfield’s Jesuit Community Center has existed on campus for almost five years. The 20,000 square foot residence for 12 of Fairfield’s Jesuits is often admired by students, faculty and community members from afar, however The Mirror was able to attain an inside look into the ecologically friendly and stunningly contemporary building.
The building was designed by Gray Organschi Architecture to replace the former Jesuit residence at 42 Bellarmine Road with a smaller, central and more inviting community center for the fewer number of Jesuits at Fairfield. It was completed in 2009, and has received numerous awards for its design and has been recognized by institutions such as The New York Times.
According to Fr. Paul Holland, S.J., it was designed and built with the intention to exemplify some of the values important to the Society of Jesus, specifically environmental responsibility and simplicity.
Fr. Mark Scalese, S.J. explained: “We had a desire that our building could be a kind of model on campus.”
The building features offices, common areas and private quarters for its residents, each comparable to the size of a college dorm room. The building uses a geothermal heating and cooling system instead of fossil fuels, and also has a green roof which draws heat from the building during the warm months, and helps insulate heat during the winter.
There is a chapel that hosts a daily mass service, and students and faculty are often invited for lunch or dinner, which is cooked by a dedicated chef.
The residence cost $12.5 million to design and build. The project was funded by the university, and the Jesuit community received some criticism about the cost. According to Scalese, who was a member of the committee that planned the building, said, “It is expensive to be exemplary.”
“It could have been made for a lot cheaper, but it was made to last, it was made with the idea that the Jesuits wouldn’t live here forever,” said Scalese.
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