Our Under the Dome project is an act of Radical Preservation. This means that a portion of the original structure of St. Stephen’s Church, approximately 35% will remain and the program of the building will be repurposed into a forum for public events. (i.e. theater, debates, concerts, etc.)


Studying the building closely, reveals an elegant series of proportions used both on its exterior and interior Neo-classical architecture. The most significant discovery is that the dome height is exactly the same dimension of the surrounding walls which support its span. With this discovery, our project will recreate a second dome identical to the original in size and span, but inverting it in order to spatially construct the forum for public gatherings. This second inverted dome under the existing dome will establish a spherical geometry balancing itself between both the existing landmarked facade and ceiling plane supplying it with structural support. The spherical geometry will be bifurcated by an entry corridor at ground level to allow for handicapped access to the new interior space. The new interior space will be primarily lit by the single overhead oculus replicating a Pantheon like environment. This environment has a stage at its center initiating a theater in the round as a democratic forum.
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The exterior of St. Stephen’s Church will undergo a subtractive process removing the north and south perimeter walls exposing the new spherical geometry to its neighboring buildings. The exterior will also undergo additions to the roofline and ground level of the structure. The roofline will be a series crown like conical facades acting as the equivalent of architectural halos similar to depictions of St. Stephen in historic artworks. The conical facades will also provide water to the new garden at ground level.
Our Under the Dome project is theoretical in nature, but this proposed act of Radical Preservation will operate as a precedent for landmarked buildings at urban scales comparable to Burnham’s projected plan for the City of Chicago.

Location: Chicago, Illinois
T. Joseph Surjan - design scientist & writer
S. Hjelte Fumanelli - project architect & digital modeling