The Baughman Center consists of two buildings located along Lake Alice on the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

campus. The main building is a nondenominational chapel or pavilion, while the other one is an administrative building. The chapel has seating for 96 people and is used for silent

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, private contemplation, weddings, funerals and memorial services as well as a venue for small musical or performing arts events.University of Florida Performing Arts – Baughman Center
/ref> The center, named after George F. Baughman and his wife, Hazel Baughman, the benefactors of the project and is considered an oasis of calm and beauty on the bustling campus. On April 18, 2012, the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

's Florida Chapter ranked the Baughman Center third on its list of ''Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places''.

History

The Baughman Center was the brainchild of Baughman, a university alumnus, who was the first president of

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...

He was inspired by the picture of a building he found in a ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' magazine — perhaps the

Wayfarers Chapel Wayfarers Chapel, or "The Glass Church" is a disassembled chapel designed by Lloyd Wright and originally located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The chapel had unique organic architecture sited on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean. Affiliate ...

in Rancho Palos Verdes,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(1951) designed by Lloyd Wright (son of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

), or possibly one of the northwest Arkansas chapels designed by E. Fay Jones ( Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, 1980, or the Mildred Borum Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista, 1987). The Baughmans donated $1 million towards the project and after five years of planning, construction started. The building was completed in 2000. George Baughman died on December 24, 2004, and his memorial service was held in the center on December 30.New College

Design

The exterior walls of the pavilion are covered in windows and made of natural

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

stained to resemble the surroundings plant life. The cypress is grooved vertically to give the appearance of individual tree trunks. The sloping roof of the pavilion is composed of tongue-and-groove

yellow pine In ecology and forestry, yellow pine refers to a number of conifer species that tend to grow in similar plant communities and yield similar strong wood. In the Western United States, yellow pine refers to Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine. In the S ...

and copper to mimic the look of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

cathedrals A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. The front door is made of

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

with inlaid Gothic patterns in

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

and an ornamental architrave of crenelated

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

. The floor is made of three shades of

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

arranged in a

geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

pattern based on the building’s structure. The pavilion is oriented so that the dominant axis coincides with sunrise and sunset at the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

, following the principle of "Orient"-ation or East-facing that is common in major religious buildings throughout the Western world.

Gallery

Image:Model at UF Baughman Center.jpg, Miss UF candidate posing at the Baughman Center in 2016 Image:BaughmanCenter Inside.jpg, Inside view Image:Dsg UF Baugham Meditation Center Front Door 20050507.jpg, Outside the center Image:Lake Alice Winter.jpg, Lake Alice Image:Dsg UF Baugham Meditation Center 20050507.jpg, Another view

References

External links

* {{University of Florida Buildings at the University of Florida Tourist attractions in Gainesville, Florida 2000 establishments in Florida University and college buildings completed in 2000 University and college chapels in the United States