Spaced Out?

Creative ways to make more room

by Michael W. Michelsen, Jr.

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois, was in the midst of an expansion program, but its Sunday school teachers needed more space before the project would be completed.

"We had an important building project going on at the time," says Sandy Wunluck, the church's secretary, "but our Sunday school teachers were very short of space. They needed rooms for their classes, they needed boards to hang things on, and they needed storage space for their materials [to avoid] having to haul things back and forth. The only solution we could come up with was to divide our gym with partitions."

So, the church contacted Rich Maas, vice-president of Screenflex, also in Chicago, for help. Screenflex met their needs.

"The folks at Prince of Peace are typical of our customers," Maas says. "They come to us with space management problems that often can be boiled down to answering one basic question: What do you want to accomplish with the space you have? Fortunately, in many cases, partitions are the answer."

Today many partition manufacturers are meeting a common church need—the need to divide large rooms, whether they are gymnasiums, fellowship halls, or even sanctuaries, into smaller areas that can be more efficiently used for Sunday school classes, board meetings, and the like. Dividers are especially useful in multipurpose settings (see "The Community-Centered Church," p. 12). Let's take a look at what's out there.

Partitions are an easy solution to many church space problems, Maas says.

"Unfortunately, what most people think of when they think of partitions are the big, heavy monsters of yesteryear," he says. "Our partitions are light, and they fold and unfold in seconds. They can be moved quickly and easily without damaging wooden floors or carpeting."

Screenflex products also have tackable surfaces, to which materials can be stapled as well. That means there's no need to take everything off the partition when it is folded and stored.

"Leave everything where it is, fold it up, then unfold it next Sunday for the next lesson," Maas says.

Because the company understands that no two churches are alike, it offers a wide variety of panel sizes in both free-standing and wall-mount versions. Portable classrooms are also available.

Versipanel, located in Phoenix, Arizona, produces a fabric-covered, semi-rigid, free-standing panel that can be shaped as needs dictate.

"Our product is a covered foam core, similar to the material life preservers are made of," says Lee Stevenson, Versipanel's president. "Our product is lightweight—weighing only three-quarters of a pound per square foot—and the panels come in two sizes, 6-by-12 feet and 6-by-22 feet." Custom sizes are available, too.

Stevenson says his church clients place a high priority on easy mobility and storage.

"Versipanels are easy to move, and they can be rolled for storage or flattened against a wall to get them out of the way," he says.

Churches use Versipanels to create both temporary space, such as classrooms in a large multipurpose room, and more permanent space, such as an office cubicle. And, several of them can be joined together, end to end, to create more complete enclosures. Stevenson adds that pictures and other visuals can be mounted to the panels with Velcro, pins, or other devices.

Who doesn't remember the ritual of opening and closing accordion doors during special church events? Fortunately, the heavy, metal variety of accordion door, covered with fabric or vinyl, is a thing of the past. Thanks to new materials, modern track systems, and electrical operating devices, accordion doors are enjoying a revival as a solution to space problems. They are easier to install and use than ever before.

Curtition, located in Darien, Wisconsin, specializes in accordion doors. It carries two basic product lines: sound dividers and sight dividers.

"Sound dividers are built primarily to deaden sound coming from one room to another," explains Curtition's president Chuck Topping. "We offer four different sound divider products with differing performance levels.

"Sight dividers are used almost exclusively to shield activity in one room from another. Higher quality dividers are recommended for churches who expect heavy use. Uses vary, however, so we make different partitions."

Woodfold, in Portland, Oregon, makes accordion doors and wooden roll-up doors used in commercial and residential construction projects.

"We pride ourselves," says Woodfold representative Karen Kemper, "on the beauty and durability of the woods we use in our products, as well as the unique precision-made hardware systems we use. These assure users of attractive, long-term, quality performance."

Modernfold, located in New Castle, Indiana, designs, manufactures, and services operable walls and accordion partitions. Sliding walls stack on top of one another rather than fold on or into a permanent wall as accordion partitions do. Dan Popplewell, president of the company, says Modernfold produces operable walls and accordion products that fit a wide variety of user needs, but it specializes in acoustical partitions that meet different standards of sound control.

Clear Fold Door in Oakwood Village, Ohio, manufactures and distributes doors and related products. They also serve as a distributor for Curtition and Woodfold door products. These products include accordion sight dividers and acoustical dividers. Partitions, shipped preassembled, are available in a wide variety of coverings and finishes, designed to complement any environment.

In addition to the companies mentioned above, there are several other providers of partitions and room divider products for churches. These include ChurchPlaza in Sarasota, Florida, Adirondack Direct in Long Island City, New York, Hufcor in Janesville, Wisconsin, and National Church Purchasing Group in Richmond, Virginia.

As you can see, the possibilities for these partitions seem nearly limitless, which means your space problems can be handled with more style and cost effectiveness than ever before.