flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Places of worship, searching for relevance, upgrade and expand their buildings and reach

Religious Facilities

Places of worship, searching for relevance, upgrade and expand their buildings and reach

Several construction and remodeling projects move toward completion.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | November 20, 2021
The atrium in the Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church. Image: Alan Karchmer
The Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., just underwent its first major renovation and expansion in 45 years. Image: Alan Karchmer

A recent Gallup poll found that, for the first time in eight decades of surveying, the portion of U.S. adults belonging to a church, synagogue, or mosque fell below 50 percent in 2020. Membership, in fact, had been falling since the 1980s. And at under $3 billion in annual construction value, according to Census Bureau estimates, the Religious sector is often an afterthought in discussions about nonresidential building spending and trends.

Nevertheless, several projects that have come onto the scene recently illustrate how places of worship still strive to play vital community roles.

 

The construction site of the new facility for the Cheboygan Compassionate Ministries and Church of the Nazarene. Image: George Pastor and Sons General Contractors
The Cheboygan Compassionate Ministries and Cheboygan Church of the Nazarene in Wisconsin are building a new 6,000-sf outreach center on eight acres. Image: George Pastor & Sons General Contractors.
 

•In October, Cheboygan (Wis.) Compassionate Ministries and Cheboygan Church of the Nazarene broke ground on a 6,000-sf facility that will house a new church, a 1,200-sf soup kitchen, classrooms, two bathrooms, and a laundry. Fifteen years in the making, this center, which is scheduled to open next summer, sits on eight acres. A local architect, Richard Clements, is the designer, and Livonia, Mich.-based George Pastor & Sons General Contractors is the GC on this $500,000 project, which the Ministry and Church are paying for through fundraising. Ryan Pastor, the estimator and project manager, says the facility is being completed in three phases: currently, his firm is building the enclosure, after which church volunteers will step in during the winter months to install drywall, insulation, bathroom fixtures, and so forth. In late spring, the GC will return to install the building’s mechanicals and lay its parking lot.

 

A rendering of Grace Church Bethlehem's 35,000-sf worship facility. Image: Courtesy of Serfass Construction
A rendering of Grace Church Bethlehem's 35,000-sf worship facility that will include a 650-seat Sanctuary. Image: Courtesy of Serfass Construction
 

•In Pennsylvania, sitework was scheduled to start on November 22 for Grace Church Bethlehem’s $22 million, 35,000-sf worship facility that will feature a 650-seat Sanctuary equipped for both in-person and online worship, an atrium, café and multipurpose room, children and student spaces, administrative spaces, and a memorial garden. Serfass Construction, which has built dozens of churches throughout the Lehigh Valley, is the CM on this ground-up project, which was designed by Doylestown, Pa.-based Mann-Hughes Architects. This is the first church to be built in Bethlehem in over a decade. It should be completed by the first quarter of 2023.

Exterior of Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church
The Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. just completed a major renovation that added nearly 6,700 sf to the building. Images: Alan Karchmer

Interior of Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church

•The National Presbyterian Church, as a congregation, dates back to 1795, and its Modern Gothic National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., was built in 1967. A project team led by Beyer Blinder Belle last month completed renovating 24,062 sf of the Main Church and expanding it by 6,627 sf with two additions. (BBB was selected as the architect for this alteration after the firm completed the church’s 2016 Master Plan.) The additions improve accessibility and provide new community spaces that introduce a new rear entry and two new elevators. The second, limestone-clad addition includes new classroom, meeting and outdoor gathering spaces with a terrace and gardens. A central stair now connects all three levels of the church, and addresses accessibility, traffic flow, and programming unification. The renovation also introduces flexible gathering spaces. The design rectifies deferred maintenance via terrace waterproofing, HVAC and boiler replace, security improvements, lighting, and technology infrastructure. New sustainable features include stormwater retention, new energy efficient mechanicals and lighting. The building and reno team included 120 Architectural Engineers (SE), James Posey Associates (MEP/FP), Wiles Mensch Corporation (CE), MCN Build (CM), Stroik Lighting Design (lighting), Jensen Hughes (Code/Life Safety), Michael Vergason Landscape Architects (LA), Miller, Beam and Paganelli (AV/Acoustics/IT), and Vertran Enterprises (vertical transportation).

Rendering of Scarsdale Temples Tremont and Emanu-el in New York. Image: JZA+D
A rendering of the remodeled Scarsdale Temples Tremont and Emanu-el in New York, one of three synagogues designed recently by Landau Zinder. Image: JZA+D
 

•Princeton, N.J.-based architecture and design firm Landau Zinder has three projects scheduled for completion by next January or February: Construction of Yakov & Hava Telyas Chabad Jewish Center, a new 15,000-sf synagogue and learning center on 10 acres in Clinton, N.J.; and renovations of Scarsdale (N.Y.) Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-el and Sinai Temple, a synagogue in Champaign, Ill. For the Champaign and Scarsdale projects, Landau Zinder also consulted on venue security and helped it clients apply for grants from the Department of Homeland Security. At Sinai Temple, the renovation created flexible sanctuary space, with a primary “pod” that accommodates smaller gatherings for weekly services., and movable walls that allow the sanctuary to more than triple its capacity to 500 people. The temple’s suspended ceiling was designed to symbolize the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, and new window openings let in more light. The Scarsdale renovation included demolishing the entire south-facing wall to transform the sanctuary, and redesigning the building’s interior to present a more “timeless” look. The Yakov & Hava Telyas Chabad Jewish Center includes classrooms for pre-K, Hebrew school, and adult ed, as well as a sanctuary, meeting rooms, offices, a kosher kitchen, youth lounge, and library/media room. The site offers an outdoor learning space, playground, and parking for 70 cars. The building team for the New Jersey project include Integrated Green Technologies (GC) and Jarmel Kizel Architects & Engineers (SE, MEP). The team for the Scarsdale project include Cow Bay Contracting (GC), Desimone Consulting Engineers (SE), and Loring Consulting Engineers (MEP). The team for the Illinois project include Felmley-Dickerson (GC), C.E. Anderson & Associates (SE) and Henneman Engineering (MEP).

An exterior rendering of Yakov & Hava Telyas Chabad Jewish Center
An exterior rendering of the Yakov & Hava Telyas Chabad Jewish Center in Clinton, N.J. Image: Courtesy of JZA+D
 

 

Related Stories

| Jan 11, 2014

Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]

When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings. 

| Dec 20, 2013

Ten spectacular contemporary churches [slideshow]

German building-information provider Emporis compiles a photographic tour of inspirational spaces.

| Dec 13, 2013

Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety

From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies. 

| Dec 10, 2013

16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.

| Nov 27, 2013

Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope

BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina. 

| Nov 26, 2013

Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November

Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.

| Nov 25, 2013

Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'

"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.

| Nov 19, 2013

Top 10 green building products for 2014

Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list. 

| Nov 13, 2013

Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study

The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.

| Oct 30, 2013

11 hot BIM/VDC topics for 2013

If you like to geek out on building information modeling and virtual design and construction, you should enjoy this overview of the top BIM/VDC topics.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

Top 40 Religious Facility Construction Firms for 2023

Crossland Construction, Haskell, Big-D Construction, Whiting-Turner, and JE Dunn Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021