Elon University: Numen Lumen

Multi-Faith Center
Project Description
Numen Lumen Center is a multi-faith worship and
Project Details
learning building at Elon University. The Numen
Lumen Center supports all religions and levels of Client: Elon University
spirituality for Elon’s diverse student body.
Location: Elon, NC
Sq. ft.: 15,058

Awards Completed: 2013

Merit Award – Associated Builders and

Contractors, 2012
Numen Lumen Center is a multi-faith worship
and learning building at Elon University. The
Numen Lumen Center supports all religions
and levels of spirituality for Elon’s diverse
student body. Elon’s University motto, Numen
Lumen, means spiritual and intellectual light
and represents the academic transformation
of the body, mind, and spirit envisioned by the
University’s founders. These deeply-held
principles informed the design team’s
decisions at every step of the project process.
The Numen Lumen Center, which anchors
Elon’s main quadrangle, is the spiritual heart of
campus. Its location promotes diversity and a
focus on Numen Lumen in all things. The
Center was required to utilize the same
Jeffersonian architectural language as its
neighboring buildings within the existing quad,
which presented a challenge to the design
team. The project’s footprint and exterior shell
mimic the surrounding quad, but the
programmatic changes required a careful
weighing of this prototypical language against
new and very different requirements.
Inside the Center, a variety of space types
allow users to connect in spiritual diversity
and understanding. At every turn, the team
pursued the project’s main goal of creating a
space for religious dialogue and discovery.
Although the building references the pervading
campus architectural language, its materials
and sequences create a feeling of spirituality
and sacredness. The Numen Lumen Center’s
main spaces integrate traditionally revered
materials, such as Jerusalem limestone and
site-harvested Oak, as well as a gentle water
feature to further heighten the user
experience.
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The main worship space, termed the Sacred
Space, breaks down the traditional
hierarchical barriers between “congregation”
and “leader;” its round shape represents unity
and the inclusive nature of Numen Lumen
while its soaring two-story windows and
abundance of natural light are a more literal
node to “spiritual and intellectual light.” The
Sacred Space opens directly into an expansive
multi-purpose room, ideal for larger gatherings
and designed to adapt to many styles of
worship. Complementary support spaces,
classrooms, and prayer rooms stimulate the
study of intellectual and spiritual tradition and
promote greater understanding of the world
cultures represented at Elon.
The architecture for Numen Lumen, like the
architecture of Elon’s entire campus, is a nod
to the great southern architectural tradition of
Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia. The
building’s exterior references this academic
precedent but expounds upon it, utilizing local
and natural materials that are uniquely Elon.
Further, the Center has helped to propel Elon
into the new architectural tradition of
sustainability. The Center’s LEED Silver
Certi cation demonstrates Elon’s continuing
commitment to environmental stewardship as
well as a sacred responsibility to conserve
natural resources that lies very much in line
with the Numen Lumen Center’s spiritual
awareness. Through a thoughtful and
responsible design approach, the Numen
Lumen Center promotes the values of
interfaith collaboration and unites Elon’s
students in their common humanity.
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