Even though it's the youngest Catholic university in the nation, Ave Maria University has big plans for a cathedral to be built on its new campus.
The Naples, Fla.-based university, the first new Catholic university in the United States in 40 years, has announced its plan to build the Oratory of Ave Maria, which will have a seating capacity of 3,000 people — the largest seating capacity of any Catholic church in the United States.
By contrast, Gesu Church seats 900 people, according to a Gesu spokeswoman.
Oratory of Ave Maria will be built in the Fay Jones style of architecture, meaning it resembles the old cathedrals of Europe but is built with present-day materials, said Courtney Clarke, a spokeswoman with Robert Falls & Co. Public Relations, which handles inquiries for the university.
"It's very modern-looking," Clarke said.
The design calls for a limestone foundation about 20 feet high and walls of structural steel and aluminum, Clarke said. The ceiling will be a latticework of steel and opaque glass that allows light to filter throughout the cathedral. Gothic archways were included in the plan to enhance the old-world appeal, according to Clarke.
A 60-foot high bronze crucifix will adorn the Oratory's outer facade, Clarke said. A second crucifix, similar to the first but slightly smaller, will be located within the church. Both crucifixes are expected to be among the largest in the nation, Clarke said.
Ave Maria's plans to build the Oratory may seem grandiose given that its current enrollment is currently 122 students, but the university expects to expand to 5,000 students in the future.
The Oratory of Ave Maria is part of a 1,000-acre permanent campus that Ave Maria, which is now located on a temporary campus in urban Naples, plans to build in rural Collier County between the central Florida cities of Immokalee and Naples. The first phase of development is slated for completion in the fall of 2006 and includes a science, math and technology building, a library, five undergraduate dormitories, two graduate dormitories and a student recreation center.
Jointly, the Oratory of Ave Maria and the first phase of development will cost an estimated $240 million, Clarke said.
Adjacent to the campus, Ave Maria University and the Barron Collier Companies, a natural resources conglomerate, are jointly building the planned community of The Town of Ave Maria, which will be constructed at a cost of over $100 million.
Both the town and university's architecture were designed by Cannon Design and incorporate elements of iconic architect and Richland Center, Wis., native Frank Lloyd Wright.
Harry Warren, the principal designer for the Ave Maria project, said the idea of using Frank Lloyd Wright as inspiration for the design came from Ave Maria's founder, former Domino's Pizza CEO and avowed Catholic Thomas S. Monaghan.
"He has always been a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright," Warren said, adding that Monaghan's home and office in Ann Arbor, Mich., both emulate Frank Lloyd Wright's style.
"This is a timeless design," Monaghan said in a statement. "It will look as good 200 years from now as it does when it is first completed. Nothing about this architecture goes out of style."
The Ave Maria building designs emulate Frank Lloyd Wright's creations by having long, low lines and much incorporated landscaping, such as ivy, Clarke said.
While Wright, whose most well-known creations are in the Midwest, may seem like an unusual inspiration for a university in hot and sunny central Florida, Clarke said that his designs make sense because inner Florida is flat and grassy and looks like the Midwestern plains.
"It's a very good fit," Clarke said.
"The analogy that's made is Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie style was all about creating a sense of place in the Midwest," Warren said. "The site we're working on in Florida is just like that. In a sense, there is a nothingness to it."
"We have to create something out of nothing," Warren said. "We have to bring order to this vista."
