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The Chapel + Cultural Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, home to Christ Sun of Justice parish, was designated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places this fall.

The 43-year-old building falls beyond the norms of buildings that qualify for the designation: Most are at least 50 years old or have had historically significant events held there.

Rather, it is the "C+CC's" architectural uniqueness and artistic minimalism - it's made of unfinished blocks - that made it eligible, said Tom Mattern, interim director. The building was conceived and designed as a multi-purpose facility, combining the sacred and the secular.

"It's a very important representation of late-[19]60s, postmodern architecture," Mr. Mattern said. "This building was built for acoustics, for the ability to accommodate up to 400 people."

The C+CC uses a plus sign in its name - instead of the word "and" or the ampersand symbol - to represent the Christian cross. The C+CC houses an art gallery and meeting rooms in addition to Christ Sun of Justice parish, whose worship space is often converted into space for concerts, art exhibits, dramatic presentations and a variety of other religious gatherings.

Staff members provide administrative support to Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim chaplaincy services at RPI.

"They said that the building should be spare because the life and celebration should come from the human activity in it," Mr. Mattern said of the designers. "It becomes whatever is happening in it."

The building has given RPI students - often, engineering majors inundated with science and math homework - a place to meditate and take a break.

"It brought humanity literally to the epicenter of an engineering school," Mr. Mattern said. "It's been doing its job very, very effectively."

The road to historic designation took about five years; The New York State Historic Preservation Office and Rep. Paul Tonko played a large role. For more information on the center, visit www.rpi.edu/web/C+CC">www.rpi.edu/web/C+CC.[[In-content Ad]]

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