Students' Crowning Glory

Two Catholic University Freshmen Win Contest to Adorn D.C. Basilica's Dome

Two freshman architecture students at Catholic University have won a contest to design the mosaics that will adorn the underside of the blue dome in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, whose cornerstone was laid seven decades before the students were born.

Corey August of Kensington and Philip Goolkasian of Fresno, Calif., received the $1,000 prize Monday. The contest, sponsored by the basilica, was open to all Catholic University students, and entries were received from seven teams. August and Goolkasian, both 18, were the only undergraduates among the finalists.

Although the basilica is free to change their proposal or commission another one, the contest represents the first step toward completing the church's largest dome, the last to be decorated and a Northeast Washington landmark. Catholic University students also designed the altar used by Pope Benedict XVI when he celebrated Mass at Nationals Park last April.

The basilica's iconography committee, which judged the competition, had given participants a tall order: to design inspiring mosaics for the 100-foot-high structure, as well as 36 stained glass windows and adjacent arches. As established by the original iconography committee in the 1950s, the mosaics were to depict the Holy Trinity -- "something that is very much a mystery," noted George Martin, an architecture professor at Catholic University and chairman of the competition.

Students had just over two weeks to complete their designs. August and Goolkasian pulled it off with the college tradition of the all-nighter: They slept only three or four hours a day, if at all.

"At the beginning, we were at the basilica a lot [looking at] what nuances to bring out to compete with the other teams," August said. They didn't appreciate the "full intimidation factor," Goolkasian said, until the entries were displayed.

"That's when it really hit that we were competing against the best students in the school of architecture," he said.

Their design wasn't a typical architecture competition entry.

"Usually what rises to the top . . . is a punchy idea. In this case, it was their depth," Martin said. Their design "wasn't a one-liner."

The proposal provides for practical concerns, such as ventilation to keep the mosaic clean, as well as more sacred aspects of the space. Intersecting light beams would represent the crucifix, Goolkasian said, and materials suggested for the mosaic tiles would turn the dome from an acoustic vacuum into a sounding board, allowing hymns to reverberate throughout the church.

"It's incredible, especially for freshmen," Martin said.

The students said the project allowed them to explore their Catholic faith. "One of the most important aspects of this competition was that . . . we were approaching the problem from a spiritual as well as logistical standpoint," Goolkasian said, calling their design an "artistic expression of [their] own personal glory to God."

When he graduates, August wants to work in Italy on "religious spaces." Goolkasian hopes to look skyward in another way -- by building skyscrapers. They are likely to be well into their careers by the time the dome is finished; the project may take a decade or more, according to a spokesman for the basilica, depending on the economy and fundraising success.