BUILDING FAITH
Today’s challenges
Coming together in worship to express shared beliefs to strengthen one’s own faith and to spread God’s message to others is the central purpose for which any church is formed. So, rightfully, a beautiful, high quality, and appropriate Sanctuary for worship must anchor any church campus.
Yet, today’s church campuses consist of much more than just a traditional sanctuary. To attract and retain families as well as provide effective community outreach, today’s churches must have facilities for education, fellowship, and recreational activities for both youth and adults, in addition to accommodating worship services that may come in multiple forms ranging from traditional to contemporary. The result is a need for more extensive facilities with much greater flexibility.
Existing churches are often operating in facilities that have exceeded their anticipated life cycle, were built for other purposes, and/or have become inadequate for current needs. But the cost of construction inhibits the congregation’s ability to address all their issues at once.
What We Do
We seek to design sacred spaces that transcend the secular and lift our hearts and minds to the things of Heaven, help us to hear God’s message clearly, and help us understand God’s will for us here on earth and beyond. The Sanctuary building serves as both an outward expression to the larger community of the mysteries of faith while also enriching the faithful through the practice of the sacraments within.
In addition to addressing the unique needs of each congregation and the specific project goals, we work to incorporate these design principles, both in new buildings and renovations:
1. Design a facility that reflects the values and beliefs of the faith community to both members and the greater outward community.
2. Create a cohesive, unified campus or facility, both in spatial arrangement and aesthetic appearance.
3. Provide efficient circulation and easy way finding throughout the campus and facilities.
4. Design for flexibility and adaptability to meet future needs.
Whether planning a new parish campus, renovating an aging building, or designing a new altar, we help churches solve their building challenges. We provide facility assessments, programming, master planning, architectural design, interior design, liturgical design, fundraising support, and project management to help churches address the multitude of issues before them. LEARN MORE about how we can tailor our services to meet your needs.
Our Philosophy
We believe architecture is richest when informed by the history of a place and its people. So, we look to tradition to inspire our designs, infuse our buildings with deeper cultural meanings, and create places that stir the human spirit. Different faiths have developed their own unique symbolic relationships between specific beliefs, rituals, and built forms. We draw upon the rich history of these traditions to fill our sacred buildings with meaning, communicate their purpose, and inspire greater faith among those who enter.
Our work is guided by Classical design values. With every project, we strive to fulfill the timeless triumvirate of firmness, commodity, and delight first described by Vitruvius; or in more modern terms durability, utility, and beauty.
Firmness: We create sacred buildings that will materially endure the wear and tear of daily use while transcending stylistic trends to reflect the timeless values of religion.
Commodity: We create sacred buildings that enable and enrich worship and the practice of the sacraments, adapt to changing practices, and are sustainable through their longevity.
Delight: We create sacred buildings that express their divine purpose, inspire people to greater faith, and uplift communities.
This is not to say we can only design sacred spaces with classical columns and lots of moldings. Classicism is not merely a style. Rather, it is a design philosophy that can be applied to all contemporary sacred buildings.
READ MORE of our INSIGHTS on architecture and design.