Beliefs of a Christian Architect
Where is He?
Our constant search for God has led us to an unlikely place. He is no longer just above us, or beyond us, but the kingdom of God is within us. He is amongst us. God is not so limited, as to be one place and not the other; or in larger amounts there, and lesser here. But when we gather together, He is there, with us. I believe the Kingdom is a space within our hearts and minds, prepared by our environment of love. This is the legacy of Vatican II and, I believe, it has had a significant impact on church design.
Uniformity or Uniqueness?
My special position as architect for many churches has led me to many unexpected discoveries. Each community is unique and distinct from all others. Each community worships in its own way. Liturgies, and the sensitivities that impact their practice vary with astonishing multiplicity even within similar denominations. Though some attempt to standardize, it never works. It is human nature, but the patience of God is endless.
Form and Function
It is also apparent to me that buildings are not holy…people are. These structures serve as the context for a Godly sensitivity. And by the simple act of coming together there, in Eucharistic Celebration, we can invite the presence of Other… that undeniable sense of ‘God being there’. It is this seeing and sharing another’s expression of devotion and love in their faces that brings us together in this mysterious unity. I believe Church design is the making of a building that encloses that possibility and making it an inevitability.
Our Church Now
Each of these discoveries suggests a spatial characteristic that gives meaning to the architecture of worship. And it is essential for the community to reside in a building that spatially expresses the sensibilities of THAT community NOW. What is “Church” to some is not “church” to others and these intangible qualities that make spaces familiar and intimate to a community, come directly from the “faith paradigm” of the people of God in this community. This is the foundation of church design.
Who are we?
To that end, we have developed a pre-design process, involving a kind of “spiritual programming” to determine the Faith Identity of the community. It is a process of listening to the congregational expressions of faith, to the way of worship, the movement through spiritual as well as physical space, the faith journey that this community takes toward their God. Beyond the physical determinants of space, an emphasis is placed on discovering the “tone and color” of this community spirituality, the colors and tones that energize the need to feel the presence of Other and senses those spatial qualities that draws their collective heart close to God. These qualities express the values inherent in our faith, these are values that are imbued into the building. These are the long-lasting deep and abiding expressions of faith that project out, as long as the building stands, to the world to see.
Architect Needs to Know
McLaughlin architect has developed a workshop for community participation, to invite the community of believers to ask the question “who are we? and what are we about?” The workshop invites a discussion of issues brought to bear by words, stories, events and questions asked by the architect. Its intention is ‘faith gathering’ not ‘fact gathering’. The dialogue can go wherever it needs to go. Moderated and recorded by the architect to search out issues that either directly or indirectly involve the building design or its contents.
Can Buildings Talk?
Architecture is a very powerful means of expression. That power to convey identity and meaning builds through the passage of time. For instance, an 800-year old building has had an opportunity to project the values inherent in it’s expressions to us every instant for eight centuries. Only the dark of night interrupts the message. The lasting effect of form and color and texture of an architectural space on it’s inhabitants over time, is, indeed, powerful. And a careless copy of an image of the past is an obvious, incorrect message that creates lasting damage. A walk through a magnificent Gothic church is expressive of the glory of Heaven. We are humbled by it’s dimensions. These great buildings express the intentions of the 12th century and are worthy of preservation as history, but not as “model”. These treasures tell us what was important then and are our most valuable heritages. But we cannot bury Christ in their historic detail. Our own defining values lie unexpressed within our hearts and are critically important to our own relationship with God.
Peter Hammond said in Towards a Church Architecture: “It needs to be realized that the architecture of a building is capable of exercising a profound influence on the worshipping community’s understanding of itself and it’s mission”
It is important for the congregation to understand their role in using all the tools of design that lay before them in developing designs that identify them to the community at large…today. Contemporary use of color, texture, form, volume, size, proportion, shape, form, light, line, space, and others, should all combine in an appropriate expression, not borrowed from the past, but of this community, bringing Christ freshly into the world. These are words spoken soundlessly, every instant of the life of the building
Wrong Messages
Careful listening by a sensitive designer, gives birth to designs of integrity that accurately express the “interior” identity of this community to the outer world. No false messages projected outside, no historic borrowings, only authentic “words” spoken by this community, the most truthful expression of this community. Visual expressions of pride, superiority, triumphalism or wealth are often unintended mistakes that can be avoided by thoughtful design. I believe that the magnificent humility and intimacy of Jesus Christ and his life of poverty, with the poor, is sadly overlooked, in church design.
Relief and Challenge
What is that special quality some worship spaces possess that brings us the Presence of God…an unexpected glow…a distance brought near…a streak of light down a dark wall…a chilling moment, sensing the presence of Other? That combination of Word and Form in the space that undeniably reveals what we have always believed to be there? The Christ who is amongst us.
We all experience, at sometime in our lives, spaces that possess a special, almost fleeting, often indescribable quality. The space includes us in the warm comfort of the Presence of God…and challenges us to search beyond the Mystery within ourselves. Often an indescribable quality of 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 faces of worshippers from above; bringing Presence into the space. And in mutual wonder, the presence of a God-filled-assembly seems to occupy our emptiness, lets down our guards and prepares our hearts to receive the Word of God.
Why we Build?
What is more important…the tea cup? Or it’s ability to hold tea? Is the physical church building more important than the use of the space to worship God that is contained? Is the painted image of Jesus more important than our relationship to Him, it is intended to establish? If the cup is smashed, is the notion of holding tea lost? I doubt not. Then we must first, discover for ourselves, our life-giving purpose for the container and then….then, build the building.
How and What Next?
Finally, to assist the community in the understanding of the creative and construction process, we offer a “Design Process Matrix” that clearly articulates the steps, the participants, the timing and their sequence in the production of a church building. Also, a small book titled “A Pattern for Christian Communities”, written by the architect to provide archetypal patterns for community site and building design. The essay provides a scriptural basis for each pattern and invites further discussion and expansion.
Dennis J. McLaughlin NCARB
