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Community Corner

Local Architect Designs Sacred Navajo Dwellings to be constructed by Hinsdale's Grace Episcopal Youth

Bruce George, President of Charles Vincent George Architects in Naperville has designed a traditional Navajo Hogan home for the wife of the late Rt. Reverend Steven Plummer, the first Navajo Bishop of the Episcopal Church, in the  Navajo Nation in Bluff, Utah, as well as a smaller Guest Hogan, based on design specifications of Navajo tradition.  Catherine Plummer, who is ordained herself, continues to live and serve in the community, in a trailer which has recently been condemned as unlivable.

 

The sacred dwellings will be constructed with the assistance of 25 youth members of Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale, under the supervision of volunteer professional contractors, 24 adults and Father Chris Pierce, Rector.  The group will travel to Bluff, Utah June 7-15th.  George is a Hinsdale resident and a member of the church.

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The Main Hogan will serve as a residence for the wife of the late Bishop of the Navajo Nation, who lives in the community, as well as a gathering place with dedicated living and worship space.  The design is dictated by the traditional octagonal shape of ancient Navajo tradition, where areas of the Hogan were dedicated to gathering, living and prayer, all surrounding a central fireplace.  While the new dwellings have modern features and finishes, they are designed and built on the abiding design principals and all have entry doors which must face east, so that inhabitants may greet the rising sun at the start of each day. The 1200 square foot Main Residence will include central living and gathering space as well as three bedrooms, a study, kitchen, laundry and baths.  Water and electricity will be added as donations allow.  Stone and stucco exteriors will mimic the surrounding sandstone bluffs of Utah’s Canyon Country. Galvanized metal roofs are designed to deflect the desert heat. At least three smaller guest Hogans are planned to accommodate visitors to the community. 

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“This was a unique opportunity for my office to research and design a non-traditional residence.  We had the skills to design economical structures that were permittable in the area and donating my services helps contain costs,” says George. “Our congregation is passionate about giving kids hands-on experience that capitalizes on their heightened social conscience. I think about my youth, and the time I spent volunteering to lay bricks on Naperville’s Riverwalk.  It was really satisfying to know I could contribute something good for the community.”

 

Father Chris Pierce says to have permission to work with the Navajo people on a sacred dwelling is a unique honor.  “We are working in third-world conditions here. The indigenous peoples have had a hard time because we white men felt we had the right to occupy the land and convert people to our ways of thinking.  They don’t need us, we need them.  For our young people, this is an opportunity to transform themselves -we are providing a space in the universe where they can discover themselves.”

 

This is the second trip Pierce has made to the Navajo Nation. He says his group was among some of the first people ever to work in this way with the community because the team was willing to empty themselves to the Navajo way. “This is an opportunity to grow spiritually, by recognizing our sameness and that we belong to one another.”  The group will not complete the construction during their five-day stay, but should get the Main dwelling under roof and framed in. “We are developing a how-to process that we hope other groups will build upon, while they enjoy the satisfaction of discovering the Navajo culture and completing work on a sacred structure.   We’ve worked on projects in other impoverished areas of the world, but this should be part of our sovereign U.S. thought- to understand the rich history and culture of our indigenous peoples.  You don’t need a passport- it’s right here.”  Donations to the Navajo Hogan project may be made to the Youth Missions Organization at Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale.  For more information visit http://gracehinsdale.wix.com/navajonation.

 

Charles Vincent George Design Group is celebrating 50 years of design in both the commercial and residential arenas in the greater Chicago area and throughout the country.  Founded by Chuck George in Naperville, Illinois in 1962, and now headed by President and CEO Bruce George, the firm provides professional services in architecture, interior design and land planning and has designed thousands of private homes as well as myriad commercial and public projects, including Naperville’s famed Riverwalk linear park and one of the largest Carillons in North America.

 

 CVG projects have received both local and national acclaim and in past years, the company has been named the Outstanding Firm of the Year by the Northern Illinois Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  The firm recently relocated to new design facilities at 1245 East Diehl Road, Suite 101 in Naperville.   See more on Charles Vincent George Design at cvgarchitects.com.

 

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