A Pennsylvania College of Technology team of instructors and students from the school’s welding program fabricated the framework for the Living Chapel, a massive architectural structure designed to be a symbol for the “ecological awakening of humanity”. View the official Living Chapel video.

The Living Chapel made its debut at a botanical garden in Rome, Italy, in June 2020.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, what it’s going to mean to everybody. It’s definitely a big deal,” said James N. Colton II, assistant professor of welding and lead of the Penn College fabrication team.

The Penn College team, consisting of nine instructors and 15 students, worked more than 3,500 hours and used nearly 5,000 feet of aluminum, about 16 football fields in length, to create four chapel walls.

NBT reached out to one of the 15 students from Penn College who helped create the Living Chapel, Chad Phillips, a fall 2020 NBT scholarship winner, to learn about his firsthand experience working on the extraordinary structure. He was responsible for measuring, cutting, and fitting over 100 pieces for the structure.

Chad Phillips
Welding & Fabrication Engineering Technology

Question: How did working on the Living Chapel compare to working on other structures / pieces?

Answer: This project was like no other. You can tell by the urgency and complexity that it was something special. It was one of the biggest and most interesting pieces to be built by the Penn College and Penn State community in my “unbiased / biased” opinion.

Question: What was your favorite or most surprising part of working on the Living Chapel?

Answer: My favorite part was being able to apply my gained skills and knowledge in a real-world scenario. The thing that surprised me the most about the Living Chapel was the sheer size and complexity of the structure. The structure measures approximately 45 feet long by 30 feet wide, with heights ranging between 10 and 15 feet, according to Penn College. Also, it was a proud moment [when the project was finished] to look back upon the way in which the Penn College faculty, staff, and students came together in a short amount of time to complete the structure.

Question: What are you most proud of in terms of working on the Living Chapel?

Answer: I was proud to work on the Living Chapel knowing that I had my hands in making something this special that was sent to Italy, and later finding out that it will be featured at the Botanical Garden of Rome, then placed at the Vatican, and then finally moved to its final destination in Assisi, Italy, home of St. Francis.

In addition to being an NBT scholarship winner, Chad was recently awarded a 2021 FABTECH travel grant from NBT, which reimburses up to $1,000 in expenses for attending FABTECH, the largest trade show in North America for the metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing industry. Chad will have the opportunity to meet with peers, potential employers, and experience a vast array of manufacturing equipment on the show floor. Going to FABTECH? Stop by FMA’s booth A3654 in the Forming & Fabricating Pavilion to meet Chad while you’re there.

NBT scholarships help deserving students reach their academic goals and learn the skills needed for rewarding jobs in the manufacturing industry. Since 1990, NBT has awarded more than $1.1 million in scholarship funds to nearly 600 students. As manufacturing employers continue to be challenged with finding skilled and motivated workers, the value these talented students will bring to the industry is crucial to the future of manufacturing. The spring 2022 scholarship application is open through Sept. 30, 2021.