IFRAA International Awards Program for ...

Our approach was to turn the axis of the building 90 degrees, which permitted a number of planning opportunities: the existing Good Shepherd window wall became part of a new apse; a new enlarged narthex and much larger sanctuary were built on the new north-south axis, new space was excavated to create a meeting hall and ancillary spaces in a new basement, a new entry and plaza was placed on the south, opposite the existing congregation parking. This tectonic shift of the floor plate was allowed by the fire; the aspiration for ineffable qualities which

Existing 1st Floor Plan

2014 Faith & Form/IFRAA International Awards Program for Religious Art and Architecture

make a religious space were triggered by expressing the opportunities for natural light exposed by the holes in the ruin. Beyond the functional planning, the architecture attempts to complement and honor the existing remains of the fire. The history of the church and Presbyterian ritual and liturgy have been included and honored in the new. The light which filled the ruin and the sense of the sky and the neighborhood that were exposed by the fire led to our design approach of layering and filtering light into the sacred and secular spaces of the church.

1st Floor Plan

Religious Architecture - Restoration Award