On Starting Spiritually

This image from the Gensler Biola University classroom-to-chapel project reminded me of how important it is to start a sacred project with the enunciation of a sacred vision.  For this chapel, that was a juxtaposition of the physical place of the chapel--deep in a building--with a spiritual place--the depths from which we cry--both made for prayer.

The first thing that you tell your architects should be your spiritual vision.  And if you don't have that, you're not ready to build.

Here's what went to our architects, in their very first brief, before we had talked about much of anything regarding the physical form of the church.
beacon hill owasso

“A key scripture for the church is Psalms 43:3-4: “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy.” 

“Below are the outlines of the pastor's sermon taken from the church’s guiding scriptures, and which contain some key concepts that are important for the site, particularly of beacon and pathway. 

Church Building
1. There is needed a beacon of light and of truth. (O send out thy light and thy truth)
2.  God must send it out. (O send out thy light and thy truth)
3.  God will give us a pathway to follow. (let them lead me)
4.  Then holiness will follow (let them bring me unto thy holy hill)
5.  Then God’s presence will be known (and to thy tabernacles)
6.  Then service will be sanctified (then will I go unto the altar of God)
7.  Then joy and its expression will be real. (unto God my exceeding joy)"

You're not ready to build if you can't enunciate your spiritual vision, and if your architects can't connect with it, they're not your builders.

Church Design Zebras

In medical school, they call them zebras.  Most things a doctor sees are just plain old horse.  Colds, flu, plantar warts.  And so the saying "When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra".  Yet it's well-known that new med students are prone to diagnose common symptoms as rare diseases.  Mostly because once you think about a zebra, it sticks in your mind.  

Our church has spent a year and a half in the design process.  We started with a series of meetings to discuss the history and meaning of church architecture, then moved on to simple bubble diagrams of what type of spaces we needed.  Once we had design concepts and preliminary floor plans from our architects, we had a series of all-Sunday afternoon sessions in which we laboriously listed every function of the church and how it would work in the new space.

And always, always, there has been concern about the zebras.
"What if we need to do a two-casket funeral?"  
"We simply must have a bride's room!"
"I want to be able to completely curtain the stage for a musical performance."
"What if we have 800 people for Christmas?"

Once someone fixates on a zebra, it can be hard to move them off of it.  And zebras require special care, because they are often tied to cherished events like holidays and weddings, or to a congregant's particular ministry focus like the music program or Vacation Bible School.  

It helps to gently remind people that they didn't build their own house to anticipate every possible eventuality.  And we can't build the church to, either.

They didn't build their house to hold, year-round, the 35 relatives that fill it at Christmas time, or to anticipate their daughter's wedding dreams.  Those are zebras.

The 80/20 rule works well here.  We've worked hard to ensure that the design is amazing for 80% of the church's functions.  And that it is flexible enough to *accommodate* the other 20%...some of which we can't even anticipate.

Zebras are rare.  So we've made sure that we can set up extra chairs, shift classrooms, meet outside, and hang the odd theatrical component from the ceiling for their occasional visits.  But it wouldn't be a good use of the Lord's funds to build the church for the zebras.

Choosing a Church Architect, Part II

I was reminded, when our architects visited again for Easter, of how unconventional our 'selection process' was.  That's their further development of the site plan, including a memorial pavilion to the two young soldiers lost from our congregation, above.

The pavilion is where it all started; when we didn't have the money to build on our 100 acres, the congregation decided to focus on developing the front twenty-five or so intended to be open to the public in a park-like setting, which would include a memorial pavilion to the (then one) young man who had been killed in Iraq, and a lake, and walking trails.  I felt near panic at the possibility of a decision to erect a faux-Victorian gazebo from the building store down the street.

Somewhere around page 50 of a desperate google search for 'pavilion' I turned up this:

Never mind that it had been in the courtyard of the British Library, which is one of my favorite places in the great wide world;  it had a single post (an idea that had been in my mind as a symbolic sentinel) with support beams which my church-design mind read as a cross, it had been constructed to interact with the sunlight timed to a poetry reading (light is a guiding concept for our church), and it had been constructed by students from stock lumber (woohoo!  we could build it ourselves!), so I sent off an email inquiry in hopes that we could just buy the design for some reasonable sum and duplicate it on the lone prairee.

But that is not how proper architects work, and the d's of drdh would no more sell me a pavilion design that was made for another place than they would have sold me a stock church plan made for another church...not out of preciousness but because they knew, as I didn't completely understand at the time, that only a design made for us would really work for us.  And when we sat down and had a long talk about the church, and the land, and the light, and Aldo van Eyck, they said they would be happy to make us a pavilion but they really wanted to help us build our building.

If you search out conventional wisdom about how to hire a church architect, one of the most common is 'only use a church specialist, only use a firm that has designed many churches'.   This is usually put forward by firms who, guess what, specialize in churches.  Whether you choose to go with a 'specialist' or not (and we didn't) doesn't really matter though, if you just remember that in seeking out an architect you're looking for two things, and wherever you find them that will be a good place:

Skill, and Sympathy.

Skill - The firm's work (and yes, you should meet the principals, not some sales department; if you're given any sort of a marketing pitch cross them off your list immediately) should impress you.  It doesn't really matter if they're churches or not.  For 'skill' do not read 'wow-factor', as in bright colors and swoopy exteriors, and remember that gigantic media screens are not equivalent to good design.  Does their portfolio show that they think deeply about what buildings mean to people?  About how space works, and how people work within it?   About finished details?  Have they made spaces that look to you like they would feel good to be in?

Sympathy - Are the principals in sympathy with your goals and desires for the building?  If so, they will also be in sympathy with your budget, and respectful of it.   Do you feel comfortable with them as people, with how they listen and respond to you?  Do they WANT to build your church?  Never work with someone that you have to drag into the job. 

After a few more visits and talks it was clear that our architects wanted to build our church, and we wanted them to build it.  That arrangement, not just of mutual benefit but of mutual desire to accomplish, lends mutual trust.  And knowing them to be 'men of skill', as it were (see Exodus 31:2-5) freed us from the compulsion to prescribe their work, or to submit every detail to a committee review--one of the perennial complaints about the building process within churches.  We knew that they could come up with better answers on our behalf than we could on our own.  And they have.     

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]

On Elder-Friendly Design

I was talking with a friend this week, who had spent some time serving in an inner-city church. Once the largest, most vibrant church in the community, changing demographics had left them with a large property that a committed but increasingly smaller group of elder church members struggled to maintain. I knew it, I even knew some of them (my great-uncle was a long-time member) and sympathized. But I didn't really understand.

What I learned as he shared his experiences was how hurt these dear people felt at their near total marginalization by the modern (American) church. Their experience, their wisdom, wasn't wanted. Their preferences, for music or service style meant nothing. Everyone wanted the twenties and thirties. Noone wanted them. They had a siege mentality, huddling together against the forces of rejection in the place that, of all places, they should have been most welcome. All the happening churches in town would rather have a 25 year old with a guitar and a smile than someone that had served and loved and grown in grace for half a century.

I was always uncomfortable with the trendy, self-consciously hip approaches prevalent in 'emerging' churches. But now I'm just plain angry.

I checked the websites of the supposedly 'innovative' churches below. On only one could I find any reference to a ministry for older adults. Though their sites are heavy with pictures (some obviously stock photos of models, patently not real parishioners), few depicted anyone older than 50. When they did, it was often a minister. Funny that the ministers will soon be too old to attend their own church. I wonder where they'll go then? These churches made special spaces for kids, and youth, and young adults, and a coffeeshop so their fashionable attendees can get through a service without being deprived of their precious java. But no special place, no welcoming provision, for their seniors.

How do you welcome the elders to your church?

Disability requirements for new construction probably mean the basics for accessible loos and walkways are in place. But is the light in the auditorium kept too low for dim eyes to read the Scripture passage? (elders usually still bring their own Bibles. Old-fashioned, that) Are there ushers available to help a slow-moving elder through a sea of young people to the front door and then to their seat? Have you considered how daunting a long hallway, a vast vestibule, is to an elder? Is there hearing-impaired provision, even special seating for elders in the sanctuary? Do you pursue elders as members as much as you do young professionals? Do you seek to integrate your older adults into the life of the church, involve them with the children, honor them by valuing what they value?

What would a space to comfort and delight and minister to senior adults look like?

I don't have the answer. But I know that Jesus didn't have a target demographic, and "they don't like our music" is a total cop-out. Shame on you 'innovative' churches.

Rest and Respite

I've continued to think about this post, from the blog architecture + morality:

"...it seems to me that churches can help people lead simpler, more focused and satisfying lives by demonstrating what this life looks like, especially on Sunday morning.

So instead of building a church around programs and activities, especially activities for families and children, I see the church as a respite amid restlessness, an oasis for lives already dealing with busyness. The chief role of the church in the suburbs should be one of prayer and worship, ignoring for the most part time constraints and similar pressures. As I look around, there are more than enough activities for families in children in most neighborhoods between school, athletics, theatre, etc. There is even a plethora of charities that do excellent work, often doubling up the churches efforts. It’s not to say the church should abandon all its programs or charity, but instead should focus less on frenetic activity, and more on teaching us that the frenzied lifestyle is a trap in and of itself."

How can the design of your church express rest and respite?  

[The above image is of the Jubilee church in Rome by Richard Meier.  More detail later, but for a thoughtful blog about the Jubilee church and its place in sacred architecture, see sisu. 

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?