When a church community is faced with the need to build or expand their physical ministry, the first question is: Do we know an architect that we trust to do what we want? Several suggestions are brought up. Because of familiarity to some members, One is selected but, possibly has never designed a church…. often an unfortunate decision. The design of a worship space is the most expensive and important project the community of believers will enter into. Selection of architect sets the direction to everything that follows. Choosing a Church Architect… one who forms his/her practice around worship spaces…understands how faith can give guidance to design, is experienced in dealing with the unforeseen obstacles that haunt church development… and one who asks the right questions… can provide the professional and impartial experience and independent creativity of an expert, necessary to bring about the best design solution for THIS community and to minimize the cost, time and risk to the church.
Following are some of the responsibilities that make the Church Architect indispensable to church planning and development.
Architect of the Spirit
To begin, the Church Architect will become an attentive listening post to establish a pre-design of “spiritual programming” to determine the Faith Identity of the community, to discover what “moves them”; Once the dialogue has been completed with the community and the physical scope is determined, the design is drawn from the information collected by the church architect to translate community needs into clearly defined solutions,. Church architects can bring inventive solutions, drawn from deep penetration into the mind of this community and the idea of “church now” that lies within it to establish space requirements for the lean and appropriate physical dimensions of the project. All the steps that follow will emanate from this concept.
Architect of the Building
A Church Architect can help the community determine a budget and project scope; what should be built, when, and how much should be spent to support the long term needs of the community, without putting excessive financial pressure on the community. The Church Architect can provide a priority analysis for alternative directions for the future of the congregation and develop a sequence of solutions that fit the master plan. To keep the project on track, a Church Architect can provide a step-by step process leading to a sequence of decisions, always with the committee approval, to maintain a pace that results in a timely completion of the project. The Church Architect is a consensus builder, who can articulate why the solution was selected over the alternatives, the context and the impacts of the decision.
Architect of the Community
To protect the community from risk: A Church Architect will suggest appropriate insurance and other surety to protect the church against loss and provide a safe and accessible environment for all members of the community, A Church Architect, having satisfied the requirements of the state jurisdiction to practice architecture, will assure the community that all laws and regulations will be complied with and that the building will be safe, a pleasing visual companion to the neighborhood and meet the physical commodities required for public use. And to show the community ways of Good Stewardship in the continuous care of God’s creation and build with good “green” sustainable materials and methods.
