All Saints Chapel
Episcopal School of Dallas   
Dallas, Texas
2000

Architect: James Langford

This little 450 seat Chapel was constructed for a private kindergarten through twelfth grade school in Dallas, Texas. The architect wanted some excitement in the Chapel that the young students could relate to more than a traditional chapel.

The sculptures of artist Kenneth Snelson inspired Datum’s suggestion for in interesting ceiling design in the Chapel. Datum proposed to use a tensegrity structure for the structural tie rod that is required to prevent the roof from spreading.  They constructed a crude model from soda straws and string and took it to the architect.

Due to the complexity of the constructability, Datum designed the building with a conventional tie rod and turnbuckle.  Once the structure was near completion, the tie rods were substituted one at a time with the tensegrity pipes and cables.

The Chapel has been well received by both teachers and students. It has become an interesting topic of conversation for students, faculty and parents.