1 of 4

Nobody likes things that clash. Your congregation probably will not be pleased if you ask to build a funky modern addition next to their historic stone church. You may need the space, but you don't want the addition to do visual harm to your original facility.

So, it's not surprising that when your church talked to architects and builders about their best additions, including some with award-winning designs, they unanimously recommended that a well-done addition should take design cues from your church's existing structure.

"Someone who drives by or flies over your church a year later shouldn't be able to tell what was built first," says Rich Colavita, senior vice president of Myler Church Buildings in Crawfordsville, Indiana. "It all should fit together."

That's what Brian Ralston, project manager for Morton Buildings in Morton, Illinois, tried for when he put an addition on the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sparta, Illinois. It was that church's second addition and made their first addition more accessible. The second addition won the National Frame Builders Association's best design award.

"The building was old," Ralston says, "so we matched the period architecture with a brick veneer on the new section and then shingled the roof and built a brick tower to match." The ad dition added new restrooms, a women's parlor, and a chapel to the oldest building. Ralston also put in a corridor that allows access to the first addition at the back of the church so people will not have to go through the sanctuary.

Doug Stephens of Hull-Stephens and Associates in Swartz Creek, Michigan, also started his planning with the original building when he designed a million-dollar addition for St. John Lutheran Church in Romeo, Michigan.

"St. John's building is more than 100 years old," Stephens says, "and we had to make sure the new part would blend with the original." To do that, he incorporated design details like arched windows, brick detailing, and steep roof lines that are characteristic of the original building. The addition acts as a large gathering area directly outside the sanctuary. Stephens says it functions as a combination foyer and fellowship hall. New offices, accessible bathrooms, an elevator, and a gymnasium were also included within the addition.

A large stained-glass window, located on the side of the church where the addition was to be built, posed a logistical problem, Stephens says. Be cause the window comes quite low to the ground, he chose to design a small courtyard that opens into the new foyer with glass doors. This decision allowed the window to re main intact. Though it is very small, Stephens says, the courtyard is cleverly landscaped, featuring a waterfall and a pond complete with fish.

Bruce Wardell of Bruce Wardell Architects in Charlottes ville, Virginia, has won three awards for the addition he designed for Temple Beth Israel in Charlottesville. Temple Beth Israel's original gothic-style building is more than 100 years old, making it the tenth-oldest synagogue in the country. All three awards Wardell won noted how the addition complements the original structure.

next page... |  1 of 4

share this page