The Reflection Chapel is located in Joplin, Missouri at the northeast corner of Cunningham Park.  It was designed to be a non-denominational space for reflection and community gathering.

 

An observation deck provides space for gatherings and viewing of the changing landscape.  Inside is a main chapel and two ancillary chapels.  The main chapel is large enough for group reflection or religious services.  There are no windows, making the space neutral and suitable for a wide variety of activities.  The small jewel-box chapels are inspired by the ornate chapels of Baroque cathedrals, and are walled by varying glass panels.  To the east is a meditation garden bounded by slatted walls and ornamental shrubs and trees. 

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Light, and how it affects spaces and changes throughout the year is one of the most important  ideas in the design of the chapel.  Light only enters the main chapel through the doorways from corridor windows and from skylights.  The small chapel to the north has clear, translucent, and spandrel glass panels, and the chapel to the south has red, orange, gold, yellow, and clear glass panels.  In all three chapels, as the sun moves and changes from morning to evening and from season to season, the light changes color and character.  In the meditation garden, the plantings shade visitors from the sun during the summer months and nearly obscure the slatted wall, but in the winter the sun passes through the bare branches and the wall, creating different light patterns across the ground.