Renewing spaces: designing distinctive churches

HOUSES OF WORSHIP have certain physical characteristics that appeal to the senses. Building materials are often precious and placed with care. They include carvings of symbolic and allegorical meaning. Through their design and decoration, churches tell stories of the faith. Stained-glass windows lift one's spirits from earthly concerns. Vast interiors not only accommodate those who come to worship but are symbolically big enough for God to join us. The shafts of sunlight that spill from upper windows to the cool stone floors below seem like ladders to the heavens.

These elements reflect some of the traditional aspects of sacred space that have been passed down for centuries. But like all works of architecture, sacred buildings reflect not only a faith tradition but the values and concerns of the builders' immediate context. When people build churches, they are embodying their faith in their own particular social world and historical moment.

I've selected eight examples of excellent contemporary church design--eight projects that have succeeded admirably in embodying a particular community's religious identity and mission in its context. The architectural aim is somewhat different in each ease, depending on the identity of the community and its goals.

Embroidering on the past: Many communities wish to use the historical style of their building or the traditions it represents as the inspiration for a new design. That was the approach at the restored and improved Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, a project designed by Booth Hansen Architects of Chicago.

Old St. Patrick's Church is the oldest surviving institutional building in the city (it was spared in the Great Chicago Fire). The parish was founded in 1846, and the church was constructed in 1854 by Irish immigrants and furnished with generic Catholic icons. Around 1915 a local artist, Thomas O'Shaughnessy, who had studied Celtic decorative arts in Dublin and learned the art of stained glass at the Art Institute of Chicago, transformed the windows and stenciled the walls with images from the Book of Kells. After numerous repaintings by less skillful artists, however, the church was left with a mix of styles and only traces of the Celtic theme.

As the church community experienced a renaissance, the congregation sought to revive the building as well. Bringing new life to Old St. Patrick's was a collaborative effort between the congregation, artists, craftspeople and the architect. The "new" church they created together respects the Celtic traditions of the church and the congregation, reaches into the community and is able to respond to future needs.

Booth Hansen used modern technology to reinterpret and expand the splendor of the building's heritage. Along with restoring what was already there (and discovering some of O'Shaughnessy's work under paint and plaster), the architects used Celtic designs to embroider new patterns and pieces onto Old St. Patrick's fabric. The new altar blends traditional Celtic symbols in a fresh way. The new reredos, the wall behind the altar, uses Celtic designs in bas-relief, while the floor of the new elevated altar area incorporates Celtic designs in the inlaid marble. The result is architecture and art that strengthens what was there already and extends the fabric of the church and its history.

Celebrating the vernacular: Certain regions of the country have a distinct tradition of church architecture, and congregations often want to tie their new building to that tradition. New England has a powerful tradition of vernacular architecture. The simple, white, wood-framed congregational meetinghouses are for many people the epitome of New England.

Congregationalism has its roots in the Puritan movement. The Puritans' meetinghouses were simple buildings, constructed without frills, which expressed the unambiguous and rigorous nature of their civic and religious life. The sanctuary allowed the congregation to have close contact with the speaker. The spoken word from the Bible and the sermonizing on the word were at the heart of this faith. The meetinghouse interior did not need to accommodate processions or other movements of people. This style of religious architecture had a lasting effect on the architecture of New England and other kinds of buildings--schoolhouses, town halls, libraries, even factories and mills.

Christ Congregational Church in Brockton, Massachusetts, draws from this tradition. Designed by Donham & Sweeney, the new church is the latest building for a congregation that was formed in the 1700s. The current congregation is the result of the merger of four separate parishes in the 1980s. When the congregation decided it needed room to expand, it wanted a design that would reflect its distinguished past and also create a stronger sense of unity.

The exterior is of the same materials seen in countless New England buildings since the 18th century: clapboard (horizontal) and board and batten (vertical) wood siding. The church is straightforward, filled with light and (like the congregation it serves) "worship centered."