Posts by Barb Bindon

The design and construction of church facilities may very well be one of the most important activities in your organization’s history. One of the many critical components of your building success is hiring the right architect. Your church should consider at least 3-4 architects or design/build firms who have a good reputation for building the type and style of structures you are considering and are familiar with designing within the budget range you can afford.

It will always cost more to build your church then you expected.

What the committee desires to build will exceed their budget, and most architects – even church architects can’t design within the limitation of a tight budget to the frustration of the contractors whose bids will come in over the projected budget and need to be re-bid.

1. Ceiling Height
Create as high a ceiling as possible. High ceilings help create the feeling that the space is important, which in turn helps instill reverence in the space. High ceilings are also required to create the acoustics needed for music, praying in unison, and projection of the voice. Music requires a high ceiling in order to sound full-bodied and powerful.

2. Symmetry
Use proportional spacing and balance to create a Symmetrical worship environment. The sanctuary, platform, altar area, pulpit, bimah, stage or other focal point of the worship space should be centered to allow most members of the congregation an un-obstructive view. When placing seating, it is important to use symmetrical design. If pews, theater seats or movable chairs are to be installed, several issues are important to consider prior to installing the seating. First, seating in an auditorium space is governed by federal, state and local fire and life safety codes. Prior to purchasing seating for your space, understand the Requirements for your area. Many states limit the length of pews or rows of theater seats in order to insure a quick exit in case of an emergency.

When building your house of worship here are the basics rules of thumb.

When purchasing land plan on 1 usable acre of paved, stripped parking for every 300 people. A paved, stripped parking area should be able to accommodate between 100-115 cars per usable acre and most building codes allocate 1 car per 3 people. Many local building codes may require islands of planted vegetation within the parking lot which reduces the number of cars per acre

A usable acre is one that does not contain non-buildable ground, such as wetlands, steep slopes, irregularly shaped property, ungradable hills, property that is not accessible, and or property which high tension power lines cross over and where cars are not allowed to drive under these power lines .

Whether one calls it a sanctuary, worship space, celebration room, nave, assembly hall, or great room, the focal point of a structure is the single most important room in the Praise Building. Designing this space, (which for the purpose of this text, we will call the sanctuary) need not be complicated to design or expensive to construct. There are four major components to designing your PraiseBuilding: structural elements, systems, assembly issues and decorative ideas.

Many lenders who have traditionally lent money to houses of worship are currently sitting on the sidelines. As David Dennison, President of Church Mortgage Solutions a national loan broker for churches explains it, “You can expect to see local banks and other secular tighten their financial guidelines. Faith based lenders who are committed to “kingdom expansion may be a bit more forgiving” Denison continues. “Nowhere is lending as tight as it is with secular institutions, whether a well known national bank or a community lender. That’s why all of my loans are currently being placed with faith based lenders.”

No matter how much money you’ve raised, it’s not enough.

BELIEVING IN THE PROJECT
When working with a construction budget, there are many points that one should understand. In this chapter we explain both the “how” and “why” of construction budgeting for PraiseBuilding renovation, as well as a few “don’t ever do this” pointers and discussion of the mistakes made in years of working with congregations.

Remember that when we speak of construction budgets for PraiseBuilding acquisition and renovation, we are probably going to be speaking in terms of hundreds of thousands of dollars to many millions of dollars. Dealing with these huge amounts of money to many people is unnerving. Remember that one is not raising all of this money from a single paycheck. Hopefully, the growing congregation is large enough and full of working families who, although living paycheck to paycheck, are able to have every family contribute a little from their paycheck each week.

Install a more efficient heating or cooling system.  Newer systems are more efficient, and can save you money in the long run.  Even replacing old window air conditioning units with newer models may save you money. Check your local county, state, or energy provider’s website for rebates when you recycle your old window A/C units. …

By Duncan Stroik, A.I.A Architect and an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. The Second Vatican Council requires us to reject traditional church architecture and design new churches in a Modernist style. This myth is based more on what Roman Catholics have built during the past thirty years than on what…