Mount Auburn Cemetery Bigelow Chapel

Cambridge, Massachusetts
United States

This Gothic Revival chapel, built in 1844 and located in an iconic historic cemetery, was in need of a luminous facelift after finding new purpose as a location for a variety of events, including weddings, funerals, and meetings for the cemetery’s board of trustees.

The design team was tasked with integrating new lighting to provide nighttime ambiance, wayfinding, and much-needed flexibility. Code-compliant LED lighting was carefully integrated into the existing chapel, the new addition and the adjacent landscape. Lighting equipment was selected to be minimally invasive and allow the beauty of the architecture and landscape to take precedence, while simultaneously working within a limited donor budget and reducing future maintenance needs.

  • Architectural Lighting
  • Lighting Controls
  • Cultural
  • Historic Renovation
  • 4,200 sq.ft. | 390 sq.m.
    $15 M
  • William Rawn Associates
  • Illuminating Engineering Society Interior Lighting Design Award of Merit
  • Andy Caulfield, Robert Benson