Great Design from Cheap Materials - 5

Ever since I saw the newly designed The Wright Restaurant in NYC's Guggenheim Museum I've been thinking about how this idea could be adapted for a church space.

The museum's site-specific artwork, by Liam Gillick, is of high-end custom extruded aluminum.  But it kind of looks like painted 2x4s, doesn't it?  Note how in the first photo you can see that the widths and depths of the pieces vary; as if some are mounted on their side and some on their edge.

Pick your colors, then mock your project up carefully using paper strips of varying widths on graph paper scaled to your wall size.  With a little planning, you too can have a site-specific work brightening up the children's or youth space using more thought than money!

[images by Andre Kikoski Architects]

Children's Space Carpets

Our new children's house design is a combination of closed classrooms and open classrooms around a central gathering space.  For that space, I love these new carpets by Italian designer Luca Nichetto  with Japanese studio Nendo.  So versatile, since they can be laid overlapping or apart, and do you see how you can line up the kiddos by having them each sit or stand on one of the circles?  So helpful for choir time! I'd love to have these for softening the floor in the classroom spaces, to be brought out into the larger space as needed.  

via dezeen.

Foldable Cardboard Furniture from Foldschool

Foldschool "is a collection of free cardboard furniture for kids, handmade by you. The downloadable patterns can be printed out with any printer." 

Follow the instructions (definitely try the sample first to learn the techniques); and the pieces are surprisingly stable and chic.  May not last forever forever but if recycled cardboard (4 mm single layer) is used the price is definitely right.  We've been renovating the nurseries at my own church and these are on my list for the next work day...

Cheap Fix - Linoleum remnant flooring

Above, a lineoleum remnant floor as a study model, partially laid, and completed. Via materialicio.us , this lineoleum is a surprisingly stylish fix for the church kitchen, or for nursery or youth areas where a hard floor is required. As indicated, make a quick study model before laying the floor. And use the 'real' linoleum, whose color goes all the way through and is highly scratch resistant, rather than the cheap plastic flooring sometimes referred to as linoleum.

It appears that the red linoleum has been used on the countertops as well...another 'cheap fix' which can be finished off with either a wood or aluminum trim piece on the counter's face.

In my neck of the woods, lino remants can be found at salvage yards and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Inspired by School Architecture

What does it mean to be making the 'place' of a church?

I've been learning from a document I ran across called "Enabling Place-Making: The Role of the School in Supporting the Community", by Prof. John Worthington, with its thoughts on what school architecture should mean and be.

One of the primary functions of the church is, of course, pedagogical, and so it is no great surprise that many of the principals translate well to thinking about the use and design of sacred architecture...replace 'school' with 'church' and you'll see what I mean.

"Buildings, well considered, can provide support to users by being:

• efficient, by achieving more with less, reducing running costs and using space well;


• effective, by improving staff and student satisfaction, adapting to new ways of teaching, attracting community commitment and improving learning outcomes;


• expressive, of the values of the school and the community. The building, its fit-out and the way it is managed, can be used to transmit ideas and knowledge."

Many churches I've been in are poorly designed for all three. Modern churches, in particular, seem downright afraid of any expression of values, which is why they tend to be shopping-mall bland.

The conclusion of the article has fascinating implications for churches as well:

"Traditional categories of space are becoming less meaningful as boundaries blur and space becomes less specialised. Educational space needs are designed primarily around patterns of human interaction rather than the needs of particular subjects or technologies. New space models are focused as much on enhancing the quality of life as on supporting the learning experience. Circulation becomes the focus for interaction and informal learning.

Space is planned to:

• support mobility, with touch-down settings, an abundance of power outlets, and movable furniture, and a rich variety of settings;


• enrich pathways, by designing for chance encounters, encouraging the creation of ad-hoc workplaces, and providing opportunities for creative interaction;


• blend and blur activities, for working, talking, eating and relaxing, by overlapping information-based work with entertainment, food and leisure.

Success comes through engagement, continuous commitment and attention. Space can be more than an irritant left to others. Space can be the catalyst for achieving pedagogical goals and improving performance."

What does it mean to design a church around patterns of human interaction? As I think about my church's new building(s), my primary inspiration for educational space is not other churches, but innovative schools.

[above, the Shiroishi #2 Municipal Primary School, Tokyo, by Taro Ashihara]

Design Process - II

Once you have your three concepts, how should those be expressed in the spaces and finishes of the church?

For inspiration, here are some of the unique expressions of Ordrup school:

"Children in the age of 6 and 12 have different needs. This is why Bosch & Fjord has designed specific initiatives for the various ages. In the younger classes importance is attached to peace and absorption in the upholstered reading tubes while movable pieces of carpet create temporary space for discussion and cooperation. In the middle classes you can work together in smaller forums in the sculptural Hot Pots or withdraw to read and work concentrated without being interrupted by the surroundings in the colourful concentration booths. In the oldest classes importance has been attached to the teenager's situation 'on the way out into the real world'. The bright red sofa islands on wheels are movable on the screamingly yellow floors and can be used for concentrated group work, loud discussions or movie showings. A long bright green table sprawls through one of the rooms and forms a dynamic frame for creative cooperation and flexible work situations. "

I think the combination of intimate and public, collaborative and individual spaces is inspirational for a church setting.

I also like this part of their process: "employees and students were given pads of yellow and pink post-it sticks to place on their favourite spots. This was supposed to show both parties an insight into each others different ways of thinking and considering rooms. The purpose of all assignments in the process was to challenge the traditional use of the rooms and create new ways of thinking rooms as active tools in the teachings. "

If you did this at your church, where would most of the sticky notes be?

Design Process - I

I was interested to read about the design process for the Ordrup school (they of the circular dividers below). From the Bosch and Fjord website:

"The design is based in three concepts, 'peace & absorption', 'discussion & cooperation' and 'security & presence', that will separate the individual areas in distinct functions and create new rooms for learning."

If you had to come up with 'three concepts' for your church building, what would they be?

Circles for storage and space

Re the previous post on divisions of space, I love these 'reading tubes' for dividing children's spaces (from ordrup school, denmark, by bosch and fjord). If built as free-standing units they could be moved within a large space as semi-permanent dividers. The circular theme could easily be repeated in storage devices like those shown above...the last one, (from godoylab via fabgreen), could be duplicated using metal paint cans available at big-box home improvement store.

Tree shelves

Also from lago, square shelf boxes in the shape of a tree. These could easily be constructed on a smaller scale for children's nursery rooms...storage and room decor in one!

Tangram shelves

These running shelves, from the Italian firm Lago, would be great in a space for children or youth. They're not currently available here in the states, but are of simple construction well within the range of an inspired carpenter.

The designs are based upon the tangram, a common children's puzzle that I remember from my own school days. From the same shapes you can also make a rabbit, a cat, a swan...all of which could be scaled up and made into shelves by the same technique. How tos for making a paper model to plan are at enchantedlearning.