ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. NORTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in Ohio by SILO AR+DSeptember 20th, 2013 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: SILO AR+D PROJECT BACKGROUND: North Presbyterian Church houses a unique congregation in urban Cleveland. With dwindling or relocated congregations, urban churches from a variety of denominations (including Presbyterian) are being closed and decommissioned at a staggering rate within Cleveland’s urban core. With a congregation from diverse socioeconomic and spiritual backgrounds, North Church has fought to continue its ministry within the blighted neighborhood it calls home.  Image Courtesy © Pease Photography
 Image Courtesy © Pease Photography To sustain its ministry, North Church made the choice to move out of its over-sized and costly to maintain historic building. The congregation functions on a shoestring budget funded largely by donations from partner churches, thus the new facility had to be extremely low cost to build, operate, and maintain.  Image Courtesy © Pease Photography SITE: The site for the new North Church is an existing abandoned industrial warehouse building where the church is strategically collocated with a series of affiliated nonprofit social organizations. North Church desired to have a unique, distinguishable, and inviting image within the larger complex. Spatial limitations in the existing building meant the sanctuary was required to be shared space with all tenants providing large meeting and assembly spaces divisible by movable partitions.  Image Courtesy © Pease Photography DESIGN STRATEGY: The architecture capitalizes on the multi-purpose function of the sanctuary to enhance the spatial qualities that characterize sacred worship space (symmetry, volume, indirect natural light). Conceived as a hybrid canopy/cathedral, the ceiling surface undulates to create a series of vaults that maximize the spatial volume available while simultaneously concealing the appearance of hardware and headers required for the movable partitions.  Image Courtesy © Pease Photography Clad in a durable bamboo resin material used in the construction of skate board parks, the faceted ceiling panels are subdivided into an animated triangular pattern that accommodates lighting, HVAC, and sprinkler systems. To maximize material economy and fabrication, a limited amount of triangular tile shapes repeat in a variety of patterns throughout. Reflective colored panels are introduced that echo the stained glass windows from the church’s former home.  Image Courtesy © Pease Photography  Image Courtesy © SILO AR+D  Image Courtesy © SILO AR+D  Image Courtesy © SILO AR+D  Image Courtesy © SILO AR+D
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