Rothko Chapel

“The design enhances the viewer’s ability to experience the richness and variation of color in the Rothko paintings.” —Juror Joyce Hahn, Arup, Los Angeles

Opened in Houston in 1972, the 6,000-square-foot Rothko Chapel was conceived by artist Mark Rothko and architect Philip Johnson as a naturally lit space for displaying the artist’s paintings. However, it soon became apparent that the brightness of the central skylight resulted in too much visual contrast, and potential damage, for the dark artworks. Several interventions—including a fabric scrim and an opaque baffle suspended beneath the skylight—were made in subsequent years but diminished the architectural intent.

Thankfully analytical tools for the quantitative analysis and modeling of natural light have come a long way in aiding designers to meet conservation standards. Washington, D.C.-based George Sexton Associates developed a louver system that follows the profile of the original skylight while gently washing the perimeter walls with natural light. Supplemental artificial lighting, controlled by photosensors, is provided as needed by a set of digital projectors concealed at the skylight ring, directing light to the perimeter walls via a set of mirrors suspended below. Viewers can now appreciate the subtleties in color and shading of Rothko’s work and his original vision for the chapel’s interior.

courtesy Elizabeth Felicella Photography
Exterior framing projectors illuminate artist Barnett Newman’s "Broken Obelisk" sculpture, providing precise control of glare and spill light.

courtesy Elizabeth Felicella Photography
The louver system at the skylight directs diffused daylight onto the perimeter walls and paintings, enabling viewers to see subtleties of color and shading.

courtesy Elizabeth Felicella Photography
Subtleties in Rothko's use of color become visible under the modulated light.

Details
Project Name: Rothko Chapel
Location: Houston, Texas
Client/Owner: Rothko Chapel Board of Directors
Lighting Designer: George Sexton Associates, George Sexton III, IES, IALD, Principal; Owen Brady, Project Manager; Chen Liu, Designer
Architect: Philip Johnson • Howard Barnstone, Eugene Aubry• Architecture Research Office
Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Woltz
Photographer: Elizabeth Felicella Phtography

Project Size: 6,000 square feet
Project Cost: $16,000,000
Lighting Cost: $200,000
Watts per Square Foot: 1.5
Code Compliance: ASHRE 90.1 2016
Lighting Product Manufacturers: Christie Digital, Litelab, Lucifer Lighting, Lucent Lighting, Portfolio Lighting, WE-EF Lighting, BK Lighting