Generations of Houstonians have experienced moments of quiet contemplation inside the Rothko Chapel. Now, they can do so just outside its walls as well.
On Friday, November 14, the chapel will dedicate the the Kathleen and Chuck Mullenweg Peace and Reflection Garden. Described in press materials as “a contemplative outdoor space designed to foster stillness, renewal, and connection,” it’s the latest addition to the Rothko campus as part of its Opening Spaces expansion project.
Similar to the chapel’s minimal interior of black panels, the new Peace Garden offers a relatively austere environment of benches surrounded by low plants and shaded by young trees. It allows visitors to sit quietly and relax while experiencing sunlight, the sky, and the day’s weather. The chapel cites research by Harvard University that found time spent outdoors has a number of health benefits, including reducing stress, lowering blood pleasure, and improving mental well-being.
“Few places in the world embody the marriage of the sacred and the civic as profoundly as the Rothko Chapel,” Rothko Chapel president Abdullah Antepli said in a statement. “This new peace and reflection garden extends that invitation outward — a place where silence becomes a shared language, and where reflection can blossom into hope.”
Another view of the garden. Photo by Brian Austin, courtesy of Rothko Chapel.
The Peace Garden will be open daily during the same hours as the Rothko Chapel.
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects worked with the Rothko Chapel to design the garden. The firm has been involved in a number of projects in Houston, including ongoing work at Memorial Park and the recently-dedicated Ismaili Center.
First announced last year, the Opening Spaces campaign is a $51 million project to expand the Rothko Chapel campus with additional buildings. Led by Architecture Research Office (ARO),
it includes the new Administrative and Archives Building and the Welcome House. Still to come are a new Program Center, building a guest bungalow for speakers and fellows, and creating a tree-shaded plaza that will serve as a venue for events. So far, the chapel has raised $38 million towards that final goal.
The dedication ceremony will feature remarks by Christopher Rothko, chair of the Rothko Chapel Capital Campaign; Matt Mullenweg, Houston native and co-founder of WordPress; Lanie McKinnon, principal at Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBWLA); Adam Yarinsky, principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO); Troy Porter, Rothko Chapel board chair; Council Member Abbie Kamin; and Abdullah Antepli, president of the Rothko Chapel.
