Article source: Charles Todd Helton Architect, Inc.
A church that was in need of a facelift and a few additions. We changed the overall look of the campus, from an outdated split face cmu block look, to a more contemporary stucco and stone ‘shining beacon on the hill’ look and feel. I love the almost Greek Island feel it gets with the whites and the blue sky. We added a fellowship hall, various entrance porches, redesigned the sanctuary, and added a much needed set of new bathrooms (plus many other items as well). Loved the people I worked with there. Built in Spring, Texas.
The benediction of the church on 9 May 2015 ended the odyssey of the Leipzig parish community that has lasted over seventy years. Its permanent return to the centre of the city is manifested in the construction of the new St. Trinitatis church. ‘This will not remain solitary in foreign surroundings. It stretches its arms out to the city and gives itself to the city as a gift,’ summarizes Pope Francis in his greeting. For us as architects it was important to develop the new parish church out of the organism of the surrounding city. It obtains its presence through its high church building structure and church tower, but most of all through the inviting openness of the parish courtyard. With its building envelope made of masoned Rochlitz porphyry, the structure acknowledges its region and tradition. The sustainable building concept reflects the client’s wish for the careful interaction with creation. In his encyclical Laudato Si’ (Praise Be to You), which was published just a few days after the benediction of the parish church in Leipzig, Pope Francis defines the environment as ‘a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone. If we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all.’2 (Pope Francis 2015, Chapter Two, paragraph 95).
Ålgård, just outside Stavanger, is a very vibrant congregation with many activities. One of the aims of the new church was to bring together as many functions as possible under one roof. A challenge with the project was therefore to create suitable rooms for a classroom, an office, a café, without affecting the actual Church space. By lowering the ground floor partially into the terrain, suitable space to accommodate the range of functions room was generated, leaving the sacral space undisturbed on the upper floor. – A logical and functional solution that makes the sanctuary a natural and prominent center.
Given the extension of Catholic community and the increasing in tourist in Samui island, Suratthani, who wishes to participate the mass in the then chapel, Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil, SDB, came up with the idea to build a new church and name it as Mary Help of Christian church. The selected architect, whom inspired by the church name, took part of the Holy Bible relating to holy Annunciation of Mary into his design as follow:
Being the first phase of the Ástjörn church, the parish hall holds the unique status of taking on all of the functions of the parish – church services included. The anticipated second phase is a church to the south of the main hall.
The Parish hall is modest, warm and accessible. It provides a warm embrace for those who enter to seek protective shelter, peace and inner strength. The design approach was to enhance the church’s role as a servant.
Fostering a spiritual community has always been at the heart of the mission of St Mary Mercy hospital. The first building of the current campus was established in 1959 by a group of Felician Sisters to serve a community in urgent need of healthcare as the auto industry grew exponentially. Since this time, the population of the region has continued to grow and become more demographically and spiritually diverse. Reflecting this, the programmatic scope of this project includes a Roman Catholic Chapel, a reflection room and a Muslim prayer room.
Since 1997, Olson Kundig has worked with St. Mark’s Cathedral to expand, remodel and preserve their church located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Originally constructed in 1928, the cathedral remained only partially complete for decades as it underwent a series of gradual updates. The most recent improvements, particularly to the exterior, bring the cathedral to completion, lending a sense of visual unity and cohesion that embodies St. Mark’s mission of community service and accessibility.
Established as the first Korean protestant church, Saemoonan Church constructed a new church on Sinmunno, Gwanghwamun, celebrating its 132nd anniversary. The shape resembles a mother’s arms stretched out toward the sky. At the time of the design competition in 2010, the Korean Christian community had put functionalism as a top priority strategy for church construction, and many large churches were showing off their existence on a large scale. However, Saemoonan Church proposed four distinct church construction themes as basic guidelines; ¨ç the historicity as the mother church of Korean protestant churches, ¨è the symbolism of doors open to heaven ¨é the spatiality of expressing Christ as light, and ¨ê presenting a water space as a meaning of baptism and harmony. Hence, we adapted the themes with Loving God and Loving Neighbors and included them in the design. Loving God was mainly portrayed through the use and symbolism of the space, and the aspects of Loving Neighbors were expressed with the publicness through the external appearance and layout effect of the building that are revealed in the city center.
Le Corbusier described Notre dame as a ‘pure creation of spirit”. The new extension roof is white, recalling the le Corbusier titled one of his books: “When the cathedrals were white” and addressing the original aim of the cathedral builders when used marble for creating a white construction. The white color restores the ancient imagination of cathedrals. The new extension is in line with the traditions of Gothic cathedrals: rising up the building towards the sky for reinforcing the sense of verticality. The roof rises gradually in the middle creating a curved skyline for the cathedral as Antoni Gaudi said.
One of the most historically significant structures in the Pacific Northwest, Providence Academy is nearly 150 years old. The Academy—built by the Sisters of Providence in 1873 and designed by Mother Joseph Pariseau—has served at various times as an orphanage, office space, and boarding school. The boarding school, the last significant occupant, ceased operation with the graduating class of 1966, and in the years since, the building has stood mostly empty and neglected.
In 2009, a local group of civic-minded entrepreneurs, recognizing the inherent value of the legacy building and its important proximity to downtown Vancouver’s urban core, acquired the 64,000-square-foot building. The group worked to stabilize the facility to ensure the building’s continued viability for its yet-to-be determined future. In 2012, The Historic Trust, the organization charged with preservation and management of properties on the nearby Fort Vancouver Historic Site, and Venerable Properties hired SERA for a series of studies to determine Providence Academy’s potential for future use. The result of that study was a multi-phased vision to transform the derelict facility into a re-invigorated hub of activity for the community and the region. “From SERA’s earliest beginnings, we have been working to preserve and breathe new life into older buildings,” notes the firm. “We are passionate believers that a great city can reflect both its past and its present, and that revitalized older buildings create a richness that you don’t get any other way.”
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