O'Brien and Keane, based out of Arlington, Virginia, at St. Thomas More Cathedral (likewise located in Arlington, Virginia) where our focus will be especially on the exterior, which is certainly not unimportant as any voyage to deeply Catholic cultures will attest.. When the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, was established in 1974, the parish church of St. Thomas More was designated as its cathedral. The 50th anniversary celebration of the founding provided the motivation to renew the aging structure. In conversations between the client and the architect, a challenge emerged: could the old church be transformed into one more fitting for its stature as the mother church of the Diocese, one drawn from the heritage of traditional sacred architecture? O’Brien & Keane responded with a design for the complete replacement of the principal facades and roof, enlarged windows, and the replacement of nearly all existing interior finishes. Additionally, the design called for the reorganization …