A community complex dedicated to group activities and the day-to-day operations of the parish needs functional space to accommodate the smooth working of those activities. But there is also the need for relief from the press of public involvement.

We also need quiet space for a time of “planned neglect” for liberation from the barrenness of life in the fast lane. Places-in-back are available in most facilities to provide peaceful solace ina a natural environment protected from the noise of the front.

Unfortunately those quiet areas are usually loading docks, garbage dumping, transformers, air handlers and emergency generators. We sacrifice these valuable, private, quiet places in back to environmental support for the building.

The presence of God in a light-filled space seems to occupy our emptiness, lets down our guards and prepares our hearts to receive the Word of God.

In the beginning, God created light– first, before all other things. The sun has continued to excite life in the rest of the universe. Our very existence on earth depends on its life-giving rays. There is an important message here. And history has shown that man has come to value light greatly. Earth has blossomed under its warm and gentle radiance. Light gives us direction, knowledge and wisdom. Even the cleverest invention of man, the electric light is powered by fossil fuels, nurtured by the sun. It entertains us with great art. Lou Kahn, an architect once
said, “A building didn’t know how great it was until it was struck on the side by the sun.”

All major religions have created specific rituals and rites to mark their essential rootedness in light. In our own paradigm, the use of light is central to the rite of all Christian sacraments. The variance of the ritual ‘light’ in metaphor, and personal enlightenment come together in the sacramental experience. The poet finds his most fertile image in the light that gives us direction and pleasure. On the other hand, the cruelest form of torture is in its total denial.

We move through darkness, toward the light, to be healed as a more whole and enlightened person.
-O’Murchu, 1999

The irony is that light does not draw attention, without darkness. Light projected into an already well-illuminated environment disappears in sameness. There must be a need…a contrast to bring about prominence. A bright moon at night demonstrates the principle. By the same token, we do not seek freedom unless we have been imprisoned, do not wish for clarity unless we are confused, do not enjoy food unless we are hungry, do not seek community unless we are lonely, water does not flow unless it is elevated. High pressure atmospheres blow winds to low
pressure areas. Imbalance seeks to right itself. These are laws of nature. Further, we are out of balance when we stray from the light of God.

As human beings, we are phototropic, we seek light as a guide, when in darkness. When a lighted place appears ahead we proceed toward it. When an object in space is illuminated with intense light in a field of dark light, our attention is drawn there. We cannot find our way unless there is light to guide us. Metaphorically, we do not seek the light of God unless have lost our way.

In my practice as a church architect, beyond resisting the law of gravity, the rages of weather and the prejudices of men, I have made some simple discoveries…wonderful in their simplicity and ordinariness; namely, the unbelievable importance of our six capacities… Sound, light, touch, smell, stillness and movement. They are what make us human and through them, if we are careful, they can bring important moments into lives of many who are sensitive to them.

My premise here is that great church buildings cannot avoid a skillful and artful attention to these capabilities. Sound with natural acoustic intimacy for music and speech. Light with attention to emphasis and mystery, touch with meaningful, rough and smooth texture, scent from materials with liturgical significance, movement of liturgy and public circulation and stillness of space remembering all that went before.

We have all experienced, sometime in our lives, architectural spaces that possess a special, almost fleeting, often indescribable quality, that somehow we sense the warm blush of the mysterious presence of Other…and we are challenged by it, to search beyond the moment within ourselves. What is that sensible quality some worship spaces possess that suggests the Presence of the Divine … of an unexpected glow from a hidden light source…a distance brought near… the memorable aroma of incense…a Eucharistic moment performed…the sonorous voices of a young choir …a streak of light down a dark wall…a chilling vision, sensing the presence of God… an expectant stillness, waiting…a meditative
moment away from our thoughts….. that these sight and sounds, seen and heard with Word spoken, all of them real, inescapable, undeniably, that reveal what we have always believed to be there, recalling “I will be with you always.”

The walls and roofs seem to leak light from outside through openings and cracks and between building parts that don’t meet. Often a soft light pervades the space. The glow of color from an ornamental glass window, a hidden clerestory cascades daylight onto a textured wall from above, a milk-glazed skylight brightens the heads and faces of worshippers and the celebrant from above. And in mutual wonder, the presence of God in a light-filled space seems to occupy our emptiness, lets down our guards and prepares our hearts to receive the Word of God.

As a designer I envision buildings seen as light fixtures, aglow with interior lighting at night; and in the light of day, as light fixtures ‘in reverse’, with glazed openings in the ceiling and walls, radiant with indirect daylight from a solar ambience. Four worship spaces in my portfolio utilize these techniques, some with dramatic results. When combined with a minimum of artificial lighting, the cost saving is impressive and the payback with day-lighting is almost immediate. There is no continuing cost except maybe, the window washer.

Let me add strength to my inference that our church buildings have not used these capabilities well. Some have superbly; some have not. We can do much better. I believe that often we resort to pre-digested ‘boxes’, relying on stained glass and statuary to make it a space of the spirit. It is unfortunate that the most expensive investment a community will ever make, is made without rethinking the assumptions that may no longer apply, resorting to less expensive, predesigned, ‘off-the-shelf’ structures that fall short of community intentions, and realizing that
an excellent building design of “our church” need not be expensive. It remains a priority of choices.

Lighting is not something you can touch, but in a Christian church, it is high priority and until we learn to sculpt with light in the same way a sculptor carves stone; until we spotlight central liturgical events; until lighting is designed artfully, rather than calculated uniformly; until liturgical spaces invite mystery into the presence of the worshiping assembly, the Christian celebrations will, all lose sight of the holiness and joy of the story being told and the fullness of its participation, diluted.

The right questions need to be asked about all elements of the building design and the answers applied with imagination, and the solutions assembled with attention to the Vatican II guidelines, made real by the thought and energy with which each community captures the light of God. With these ingredients, we will build great buildings that contribute, with noble human purpose, to God’s creation, and don’t forget to go Green.

Dennis J. McLaughlin, NCARB
Architect

All of God’s creation, all elements of the universe, is formed into a circle or a sphere. The act of gathering is a universal penchant or desire. A magnetic force compels an object into itself. Earth gravity allures it’s surface materials and it’s moon into a spherical shape. Planets in the universe are pulled and pushed by the pull of gravity created by the mass of larger bodies. The circle and sphere determine the radiant geometry of energy in space. God created it that way. The shape of natural expressions behave Sound radiates out from a single source in all directions. Light and heat radiates from a single source in all directions. Light illuminates all that captures it, then interrupted, casts a shadow to a surface beyond, providing knowledge and definition for the eye and depth and dimension to all it lands on.

When the community gathers to celebrate the Eucharist, they gather in spirit focusing on the gift that has been prepared for them to share in the Body and Blood of Christ. It is this single point attraction, the invitation to “gather in His Name” that is so simple and appealing that gives the circle form its power. Teilhard de Cardin speaks of the alluring quality of Christ as the Omega Point. The form of their gathering takes the shape of the location of doors and walls of the sheltering building.

The traditional church plan demands a single line “pilgrim Journey” to the Table which does not flow naturally to the beginnings of the Eucharistic assembly. The way our bodies are formed, symmetrically from side to side and directional from front to back. Our eyes, ears, voice, faces, legs and feet all face forward and by the very nature of gathering together, we are drawn forward, according to our anatomical structure, from where we are in distant places, from different directions to gather around a place of concurrence. The structure of concurrence then does not suggest the control of alignment, or military obedience, as does the traditional assembly pattern, but randomly and naturally around the omega of attention.

Almost by accident, the Eucharistic light shines in our eyes. We are the assembly having been drawn together, as if to a larger mass by the gravity of it’s magnetism, facing one another, conversing soundlessly with our eyes, sense each other’s community without trying.

An ideal shape for a Christian gathering is the natural radial relationship focusing the members of the assembly on the table. This shape would allow and encourage approach to the table from all directions, i.e. from a perimeter aisle.

Assembly

Before a line is drawn to begin the design of the space where Christian worship will take place, seating for the assembly must be planned on the basis of preliminary discussions and approvals have been obtained from the parish planning body. This is the “mother of the worshipping plan”; the coming together of God’s people, from all directions. Determination o the relationship of the assembly to the Eucharistic table is the important first step in the planning of a church. The space concept flows from this couplet. The entry, gathering space, sacristy, chapels, choir, crucifix, stations of the cross, prayer garden, baptismal font, courtyard, Eucharistic chapel, parking area, vegetable garden; all, gain their raison d’ etre from this relationship.

A building should never, ever be built just for the purpose of providing space. Buildings should be built for human habitation, acknowledging their emotional as well as functional needs. Human habitation is the acknowledgment of the basic physical functions and spiritual capabilities of it’s user, the human being. The environment of a building must primarily be safe, functional and comfortable. It must also acknowledge and satisfy the spiritual needs of all who occupy it. Basically, it must be “user-friendly”, the user, being a creature of many powers of the heart and mind, about which we are still discovering new.

There are many variations in the basic circle plan developed by Rudolf Schwartz. Basic Parti is circle seating around the altar.

Lets investigate an ideal seating layout utilizing the Schwartz Parti. The first row is at the 24’-0” radius point and a continuous 360 degrees. The second row is at 27’-0’ radius or 36” behind the first row and so on.

Here follows is a table showing the total capacity of seating and distance from the altar for each row:

1. The seating capacity for 13 complete circle rows is 2287 seats with the row 60 feet from the altar.
2. The seating capacity for 13 circle rows with an 8 foot access is 2217 seats with the row 60 feet from the altar
3. The seating capacity for 13 circle rows with an (2) 8 foot access is 2148 seats with the row 60 feet from the altar. This is known as a “Monastic” or antiphonal plan.
4. But local codes require a maximum of 7 intervening positions for safe access to an aisle so to do that we need to have (4) 8 foot aisles at the quarter points of the circle and shorten the 7 rows in the back with an intervening 6 foot aisle. The result is seating for 1882 persons.
5. The typical worship space seating plan with an altar located in the corner of a space. Since our example plan with code access is divided into 4 quadrants. This plan capacity divided by 4 would fit the typical seating plan. Or 470 persons is the maximum for a 90 degree wedge plan within the 60 feet for a maximum viewing distance to the altar.

Variations of this circle plan would include ½ curved rows facing each other whose radius are different. If the altar is in the center of the configuration, the center for the radius for each curve would be on the other side of the altar.

In my many conversations with planning committees I have rendered this logic to them and it is resisted without exception. The antiphonal or choral formation is sometimes accepted and partial radial form is often used. Resistance to facing other worshipers, celebrant choreography relating to assembly. historical adherence to the basilica tradition, Clerical convenience, loss of hierarchy, shape of furniture, location of Bishop’s chair are all cited.

We need to awaken to radically natural and meaningful spatial arrangements to celebrate the liturgy of Christ’s Life and death and the sacrament of their celebration.

Dennis J. McLaughlin AIA

People cannot maintain their spiritual roots and their connection to the past if the physical world they live in does not also sustain these roots.

Primitive people found a clear distinction between the so-called sacred and profane space. Sacred space was the place of regeneration, creativity and transformation. Sacred space provided an anchor for one’s existence in the midst of the hazards of the environment. This experience of the sacred is all but lost on our contemporary culture. Life today is characterized architecturally by monotonous blocks of urban sameness, where one place is interchangeable with every other place.

The essential meaning of a church building was as a  symbol of the Presence of God to members of the community and a symbol of primal sacredness to all who pass by.

However, the evolution of Christian thought has dramatically repositioned the presence of God to a place of universal accessibility “within us”. The concept of Divine presence places Him ever-present, in… every place.

This change has affected the way we must think of our church buildings and the way we design them. Can we continue to think of worship spaces as “the house of God”, as if he resides no other place? Is heaven up? Are they not houses of the People of God, worshipping God? Is this the mystery that the framers of the Second Vatican Council meant by the “primacy of the Assembly” coming together as the Community of the Eucharist? And He is there in their hearts.

Thomas M. King speaks eloquently of Tielhard deChardin’s view of the play of the spirit in the world:

“Teilhard’s (Chardin) ethic of action is aimed at increasing the communality of things and thus the communality of  Man: that is, he is trying to build up the spirit, increase the transience and draw things out of themselves into the Rising Flux of Convergence. For Christ bestows His Presence on a “universe in a state of accelerated evolution.”

“Nothing is precious save what is yourself in others and others in yourself.”

“Thus the individual gains value through the sacrifice of his own immanence, but in the sacrifice he finds another immanence. In coming to realize this, Teilhard discovered again the paradox at the heart of Christianity: one must first make the act of faith wherein one passes out of oneself; that is, each person must become transient: “there must be felt an absolute passing through transience into Omega: that is, not an iota of viscosity… of sticking to things.”

“…in itself, matter has no being, it is only the relector of Being it does not possess; in itself, matter is only “a mirror of shining particles.”

Enclosure of pure physical space around it’s occupants has the marvelous ability to influence their feelings of surrender; a sense of freedom, joy and community. Color, volume, shape, light scale, proportion, texture, etc, all work together to set an ambience of empowered intimacy with others in the community making the same discovery of the presence of the kingdom within.

This power of space to influence our feelings is demonstrated most graphically by the ever-soaring heights of the Gothic Cathedral. The power and immanence of God is there, drawing for us a picture of the Divine “bigness” and the “upness” of heaven. Our smallness and lowly place unfortunately, is the result. The message belies the presence of God within us; empowered by our creaturehood. We are disarmed when we should be empowered and strengthened by the Presence within us as we gather in His Name.

To possess one’s self of the immanence, described by Chardin, there must be a space which gives visability to the “Divine Presence”; to see the light of God, and once felt, the impulse to move freely towards it. Chardin suggests that by “leaving oneself”, we leave a void for the Divine presence.

The following is a presentation to the pastor and members of his community who have been assigned the task of building a new church complex or remodeling or adding to an existing facility. The first and probably the most important task for the community is to select an architect they trust to design a church which fits their faith profile and their own sense of what “church” means to them.

The second task  is for the community to convey to  the architect the values which are important to the community.

Most architects, though skilled in the production of weather-tight and sound buildings, must begin at the beginning to learn the special liturgical traditions and functional accommodations peculiar to the faith identities in question. And even within these denominations, congregations require a special approach dictated by their location or their own specific approach to religious practices. Most pastors and their congregations lack the experience and understanding of how architecture can help them develop spaces, invested with a spirituality and a sense of the ‘holy’, which truly serves their functions and continuously expresses their faith witness to the rest of the world.

The church building represents the most powerful visual projection of all their hopes and dreams. It is also the most costly manifestation of their faith. And the message conveyed to the public through the architect often originates in the architect’s fashion vocabulary, rather than from a personal commitment to true spiritual values of the community.  The reason for this  misstatement is that the community is not apprised of the opportunity  to express their faith through design.  Unfortunately, the primacy of the  People of God in the presence of Jesus is buried in architectural trivia and a sense of numinosity is never pursued.

Identity Workshop

To meet those concerns stated above,  a pre-design process has been developed, using data-gathering methods; such as spiritual programming and workshops to determine the “Faith Profile” of each congregation as a basis for design. Before the physical determinants of design are determined, an emphasis is placed on spirituality, the heart of church space, to avoid unintended messages in the design of what is always, the most powerful expression of the church….it’s architecture.

The workshop process involves three steps:

1. Investigation of the “spirituality identity” of the congregation involving a  study of the denominational faith profile and the personal witness of the congregation and it’s pastor.
2. Investigation of the physical, functional needs of the parish project.
3. The design the church complex or addition with the active participation of the congregation through it’s chosen building committee and the pastor. The vehicle of design is the Pattern Language for the design of a Worshipping Community.

The following is a set of archetypes when applied to the design process attempts to provide order and harmony to a design solution for a worshipping community complex. It is not meant as a complete list, but only a beginning and can become a vehicle through which further programmatic material can be collected from the community.

The list of patterns is arranged in the sequence similar to the path taken when approaching the church site through the community, then entering the church site, entering the church building  and then proceeding to the outdoor space of the church.

How the Patterns Work

Each pattern begins with the descriptive paragraph summarizing the problem. the archetype is intended to solve. It will be in italics.
The next paragraph provides a general solution to the problem with specific recommendations to the archetypal  way of doing things.
The rest of the pattern offers suggestions for solutions, rationale and examples of solutions.

Throughout the Patterns, theological premises and scriptural references are blended to provide appropriate liturgical solutions in the following paragraphs, which imbue a truly Christian spirituality into the process. However, they are not meant to be the sole criteria for design, but merely to overlay the Christian Tradition, thus forming the major criteria for the design of the church. Church tradition and liturgy provide meaning for plan elements and their relationship to each other is guided by that tradition and the patterns and input from the congregation.  At the end of each pattern, references to other related patterns and scriptural passages are included  to deepen  and broaden the thoughts in the pattern.

In it’s origin,  These archetypal patterns  are intentionally secular in nature and are developed around  a common human need which must be met in any environment built by human beings.

The next step will be the workshop. The Patterns are meant to begin the thinking process and immerse you in waters of  worldly matters, laced with the  spirit. off God.

After a reading of the architect’s summary of the workshop proceedings and a reading of the patterns by the community participants, there will be a discussion of several basic site diagrams called “Parti” developed by the architect, bring together some of the responses of the community during the workshop. The diagram will include the positioning of all major plan elements. A site visit will follow, at which time the participants will discuss the results and attempt to visualize the final site plan.

The present work is intended to inject the spirituality of the Church into this set of human patterns; to incarnate the divine into the visible human world, to transform a human structure into a “Word of God” by involving the congregation directly as messengers of the Word in the process of making Domus Ecclesia.

As  always, the official U.S. Catholic guideline: THE LIVING STONES: Art and Architecture and Worship   Guidelines of the National Conference of Bishops, shows the way. It’s wisdom is a full partner in this effort and is followed to the letter.  Please continue your further study of E.A Slovik’s book: “Architecture for Worship” and “A short history of western Liturgy” by Theodore Klauser; and “New Liturgy, New laws” by R. Kevin Seasoltz .

Unfortunately, the length of this work, makes a cursory reading impossible, but it’s structure and completeness quickens one’s understanding of a complex design process and allows a participation by church members in the mysterious process architects must follow in the design of a building.  Please bring your attention and participation  to this interesting search for ” a church that works”.

Dennis J. McLaughlin NCARB