Church Design (Concept Only - Not Real)

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mburn16

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After noticing YoungTradCath’s thread on church design, I thought I’d post this here. Note: Mod’s, if this better belongs in the Watercooler forum, feel free to move it, but the topics seemed just a LITTLE too light there (Harry Potter + Yoga = worst sin? lmao) for what I was looking for.

Anyway, among my numerous hobbies is architectural design (though I’m an accounting major), and I’ve recently been spending time designing a fictional church, just for the fun of it. Its still a rather half-baked concept, a mixture of Classical Italian design and Art Deco, but I thought I would post these images here for some critique, since it seems like many here also have a strong interest in church design. I’m fully open to suggestions:

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/9122/topviews.jpg
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4864/interiorview.jpg
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/7466/frontviewv.jpg
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/965/altarview.jpg
 
I think it’s beautiful. Umm, but there will be a roof, right?
 
indeed, but I have to add the roof last so that I can effectively model the inside…and because I still don’t have the interior ceiling designed out in my head yet.
 
I think it’s a great canvas. The interior decoration will make it or destroy it, however. Perhaps add a transept?
 
possibly a semitranscept to the left (or top, in the overhead view) of the building - I’m planning to place the rectory off to the right.

I’ve also considered rounding off the end at the altar, but since I’m planning to insert a high altar into it, I can’t see this creating much more than wasted space.

I haven’t completely figured out the interior yet, thats partly why I said its still half-baked.
 
Well, I think it’s an awesome start. And I look forward to seeing the additions you design!
 
any other sketchup users who would like to contribute should feel free to offer themselves up. We’ll make a CAF dream church. lol.
 
mburn16 said:
any other sketchup users who would like to contribute should feel free to offer themselves up. We’ll make a CAF dream church. lol.
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That will be great! I wish I could contribute, but I lack the skills. Still, I will continue to look forward to the results.
 
Plan it around a pipe organ so that if this fictional parish ever decides on having a pipe organ they can put one in. I like it though and think it’s a good start.
 
I’m a huge fan of Art Deco church architecture. I think Art Deco was the last art movement which evolved organically from Western artistic tradition before the iconoclasm of the 60’s.

If you’re into architecture and trying to do art deco I’m sure you’re familiar with other churches built in the style, and the New Liturgical Movement blog’s excellent series of articles on the “other modern” styles of Church architecture, including art deco. If not, check it out.

Also, check out the interior of Belgium’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It is built in an art deco style, and looks a little bit like your design. The interior design would be nicer if someone a bit more traditional did the decorating, but the architecture itself is quite nice.

As for the interior, here is perhaps my absolute favorite crucifix ever.

 
Looks great. However, your drawing does not show the walk way behind the wall of the sanctuary to get from the altar server’s side to the priest’s sacristy.

Something that you might consider is an Adoration room so that the lights and heat do not have to be on 24/7 for just a few people. There is a good idea that I saw when visiting a couple of newer Catholic Churches in the Midwest. Although I did not particularly like the design of these churches, I did like the idea of the small adoration chapel that was located directly behind the tabernacle in the nave (the main body of the church). So that the tabernacle was front and visible to both the main body of the church and the adoration chapel behind. This chapel also had another private entrance.
 
Now that redefines an ‘open church’. 😃

If by ‘rounding off’ you mean creating an apse, then by all means go ahead. Whether it will be a waste of space depends on whether your altar will be free-standing or against the wall, and whether you’re planning to build an ambulatory (which is what zab is referring to) behind the sanctuary. In any case, you can always throw in a reredos to make the apse that much more beautiful. 🙂

I think it certainly looks like a wonderful model. I’ve had my own plans of a church, but I really must get around to drawing them out as you have here. Who knows, maybe a parish priest might come around asking for your designs! 👍
 
the design is drawn primarily (besides from my own head), from two churches:

The first is National Shrine of the Little Flower, here in Michigan:
http://www.thebreman.org/exhibitions/online/1000kids/ShrineoftheLittleFlowerRPC.jpg

The second is a church in Brazil that I found a picture of and thought was very impressive:


It will definitely undergo some changes to the design - I do want to include a chapel, and I obviously need to add the rectory/offices. The current plan calls for stained glass windows to line the sides, as well as the front and back, to depict the stations of the cross and the stations of the resurrection. The crucifixion will be the subject of the stained glass window above the altar (where the sacrifice is reenacted), while the window visible in the above pictures, above the doors, will feature the ascension.

Undecided on altar rails.
 
mburn16 said:
After noticing YoungTradCath’s thread on church design, I thought I’d post this here. Note: Mod’s, if this better belongs in the Watercooler forum, feel free to move it, but the topics seemed just a LITTLE too light there (Harry Potter + Yoga = worst sin? lmao) for what I was looking for.

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/9122/topviews.jpg
Click to expand...
Why the interior collonades? With today’s building materials that roof could easily be full-span offering a far more open floor plan, far less wasted space, lower cost and far better sight lines. While I appreciate their use back when they had few other options, I don’t really understand design details like that today.
 
Colt said:
Why the interior collonades? With today’s building materials that roof could easily be full-span offering a far more open floor plan, far less wasted space, lower cost and far better sight lines. While I appreciate their use back when they had few other options, I don’t really understand design details like that today.
Click to expand...
Good point.
 
Those columns will be load bearing. The ceiling above the main aisle will be a good bit higher (see the front view) than the ceiling above the side aisles. So there will be a wall from the top of the roof on the side aisles to the bottom of the higher ceiling.

Also, pews will only be placed between the columns (there’s a lot of space there, trust me), so there won’t actually be any blocking the lines of sight.
 
I particularly like the colonnades from a purely aesthetic perspective. I think without them and without a transept to offer some shape, the interior will look a little too much like a high school auditorium. But if they are going to be used, I would challenge you to do something with the space. I think an absolutely gorgeous and extremely ambitious idea is for them to house actual sculpted stations of the cross. That would be, obviously, insanely expensive to do in real life, but why not dream, right?
 
Looks good to me.

Go with a full transept or none, though. Symmetrical is better! (IMNAAHO)

God Bless and ICXC NIKA
 
mburn16 said:
Those columns will be load bearing. The ceiling above the main aisle will be a good bit higher (see the front view) than the ceiling above the side aisles. So there will be a wall from the top of the roof on the side aisles to the bottom of the higher ceiling.

Also, pews will only be placed between the columns (there’s a lot of space there, trust me), so there won’t actually be any blocking the lines of sight.
Click to expand...
Why would you want different ceiling heights? I fully understand why they did that in the past due to structural concerns, but why would that be of benefit today? Is it because you want the outside to look a certain way? If that were the case them I would design the church and a high bay rectangle flanked on each side by rooms that would be the size of the collonade area today. They could house confessional rooms, a sacristy, music storage, etc.

If there will only be pews between the two collonades then what are the two “side areas” for? That would be a huge waste of space.
 
YoungTradCath said:
I particularly like the colonnades from a purely aesthetic perspective. I think without them and without a transept to offer some shape, the interior will look a little too much like a high school auditorium. But if they are going to be used, I would challenge you to do something with the space. I think an absolutely gorgeous and extremely ambitious idea is for them to house actual sculpted stations of the cross. That would be, obviously, insanely expensive to do in real life, but why not dream, right?
Click to expand...
I, too, like the columns. I see the point about not being strictly necessary, but they have some uses.

I agree that they could be used to host the way of the cross. That way the faithful participating the the stations of the cross would be separated a bit from other faithful in the pews. Less distractions for both.

Furthermore, if the sacristy opened up directly into the colonnades the entrance procession and recessional would go through them, which always looks awesome. 👍

One thing I would add is a separate baptistery at the entrance of the Church. That is one thing the Byzantines do completely right: The baptistery should be the first step, which leads us to the nave (the Church militant), which leads us to the sanctuary (the Church triumphant).
 
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