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Architects preview menorah and tablet elements for new Chabad student center on 19th Street; mural to be selected later
Summary
Sabatini Architects presented proposed architectural exterior elements — a lit menorah and tablet motif — for a new Chabad student center on 19th Street. The commission treated the presentation as informational; the mural design and artist selection will return later for review.
Sabatini Architects presented to the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission on Jan. 8 proposed exterior elements for a new Chabad student center near 19th Street, including a bent menorah feature and a tablet-like panel element intended to increase the building's visibility to students and the wider community.
Architect Dan Sabatini said the project will serve a campus and local Jewish population that had been operating from an outgrown duplex. The presented elements are primarily architectural metal panels with backlighting; the menorah and tablet panels will be lit from behind with subtle illumination rather than glare.
Sabatini told the commission the features are architectural design elements rather than a mural. The meeting included renderings showing the proposal's siting near Naismith Hall, and views from Missouri Street and Lawrence High's track. He noted the design team had considered height constraints related to fire department apparatus reach and planned to keep the elements under the operational ladder height limit (they referenced roughly 29'30 feet to remain under ladder reach restrictions).
Commissioners and the architects discussed that the menorah/tablet presentation is a precursor to a separate mural process. Sabatini and staff said the mural artist had not yet been selected; they described the current artwork shown as a placeholder. The team said they may hold a competition for an artist and intended to return to the commission with the mural proposal when details and artist selections were complete.
Chair Daniel B. Smith said the item was provided as a "heads up" and recommended the commission treat it as informational at this stage. Smith said the presentation would also serve as a case study for the commission's upcoming retreat discussion of mural guidelines, to clarify what falls within the commission's purview (murals) and what are architectural elements that may not require the same review.
No formal vote was taken on the architectural elements; staff and the architects will return later with a mural artist selection and any formal mural application for commission review.
