A new auditorium for the Society of Christian Doctrine

The chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which acts as a gateway to Ħamrun, sits at the apex of the central house of the Society of Christ­ian Doctrine, more popularly known as the MUSEUM. The chapel, which is circular in plan, shares a wall with the Society’s large elliptical auditorium: seen together on plan, one is reminded of an architectural exclamation mark!

[attach id=808702 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]Paula Agius Vadalà (left) and Katja Abela (right) have been working on this project for almost five years.[/attach]

Although the buildings that make up the headquarters of the Society of Christian Doctrine were built in the middle of the 20th century the chapel was redecorated in 2001 to the designs of Prof. Richard England in preparation for the reception of the sacred remains of San Ġorġ Preca before his beatification and the visit of Pope John Paul II in May 2001. The chapel is the resting place of San Ġorġ Preca, Malta’s first saint of modern times, canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on June 3, 2007.

More recently, the Society commissioned the architectural practice Atelier Maison to renovate the 750-seat auditorium adjacent to the chapel. Atelier Maison...