Church Design (Concept Only - Not Real)

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PrayForMeStJude said:
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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I think what would be absolutely beautiful is if, between each of the colonnades, there is a metal screen of some pattern (floral, soft geometric, or something else) in order to more fully mark the distinction between the space behind the screens as a route out of the sacristy and thus a processional route and the place of the Stations, and the space inside the screens on either side as the nave.
 
YoungTradCath said:
I think what would be absolutely beautiful is if, between each of the colonnades, there is a metal screen of some pattern (floral, soft geometric, or something else) in order to more fully mark the distinction between the space behind the screens as a route out of the sacristy and thus a processional route and the place of the Stations, and the space inside the screens on either side as the nave.
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I think that would look rather nice. Might impede traffic though. What would the Fire Marshal think? :rolleyes:
 
PrayForMeStJude said:
I think that would look rather nice. Might impede traffic though. What would the Fire Marshal think? :rolleyes:
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Probably wouldn’t care if it was clear that there were massive doors at the narthex, unimpeded by the screens in any way.
 
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?
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Also, statues of saints and side altars/chapels.
 
mburn16 said:
I’ve included the semitranscept and apse:

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/376/newtn.jpg
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!!! A fantastic idea just occurred to me. The Cathedral Basilica in Covington, Kentucky (the same diocese that declared hand holding and orans unacceptable) has a second organ in a northern (opposite of yours) semitransept. It is in a loft, of course, and the main organ is in the traditional (above the narthex) loft. They play responsorially to each other, which is fantastic to hear. That could be a good idea for the space in your southern semitransept, perhaps even adding a space for a second occasional choir.
 
the choir part, yes, extending the axis, no…lol.

If I’m going to add in a full transcept, I’m going to have to figure out how to connect to the rectory, and where to place a chapel…

Quite a list I’ve received here, I appreciate that, Its going to give me something to do during the slow points of my break.
 
mburn16 said:
the choir part, yes, extending the axis, no…lol.

If I’m going to add in a full transcept, I’m going to have to figure out how to connect to the rectory, and where to place a chapel…

Quite a list I’ve received here, I appreciate that, Its going to give me something to do during the slow points of my break.
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What exactly is meant by extending the axis?

You could perhaps make a full transept, and use the other side of it to house a chapel, perhaps sanctioned off by a rood screen or something similar to it.
 
YoungTradCath said:
What exactly is meant by extending the axis?

You could perhaps make a full transept, and use the other side of it to house a chapel, perhaps sanctioned off by a rood screen or something similar to it.
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I think by axis he means the main body of the sanctuary. IMNAAHO, the extension should be behind the main altar (where the head of the cruciform would be if you had a full transept). Your chapels could be placed at the far end, or at the end of the transepts.

With a full transept, you could add square annexes externally to the 4 corners of the intersection, one of which could house the rectory. The others could be designed as chapels, vestry, etc.

ICXC NIKA.
 
mburn16 said:
the choir part, yes, extending the axis, no…lol.

If I’m going to add in a full transcept, I’m going to have to figure out how to connect to the rectory, and where to place a chapel…

Quite a list I’ve received here, I appreciate that, Its going to give me something to do during the slow points of my break.
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Here’s what I thought of after you posted your first version and I thought of how to place a baptistery. I didn’t know how large this was, so I pretended it was big cathedral-side

Hope I’m not stepping on your toes.

http://forum.catholic.com/picture.php?albumid=1666&pictureid=11318

The yellow area would represent the colonnade, the blue area would be the adoration / daily mass chapel. The red areas would be the sacristy / mechanical / storage. And the baptistery is near the front.

The way I did this is influenced by the arrangement of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and the Westminster Cathedral in London.
 
GEddie said:
I think by axis he means the main body of the sanctuary. IMNAAHO, the extension should be behind the main altar (where the head of the cruciform would be if you had a full transept).
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Yes, extending the length of the sanctuary so that the entrance to the sanctuary is not at the crossing.
YoungTradCath said:
!!! A fantastic idea just occurred to me. The Cathedral Basilica in Covington, Kentucky (the same diocese that declared hand holding and orans unacceptable) has a second organ in a northern (opposite of yours) semitransept. It is in a loft, of course, and the main organ is in the traditional (above the narthex) loft. They play responsorially to each other, which is fantastic to hear. That could be a good idea for the space in your southern semitransept, perhaps even adding a space for a second occasional choir.
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And/or choir stalls!
 
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...
Keep the colonnades. For sure. They add a lot of class to the church. Maybe on the outside of the columns, you could create some nice side altars, like at the shrine of Our Lady Of Guadalupe. Actually, they also have the columns going on there too, so it might work well:

1.bp.blogspot.com/_YC87epvokPc/SJWzdmVPmeI/AAAAAAAAFjc/IKvak9TRcJI/s400/olg29.jpg
4.bp.blogspot.com/–XEZL02lbXE/TtOT1zmOVXI/AAAAAAAADU4/a2YDf-mchaY/s640/6018956385_0dbfe62bd6_z%255B1%255D.jpg

The only thing about the side altars at SOLG is the altars themselves. I’d love to see a little less picture and a little more altar and reredos. But whatev. Still an awesome church.
 
No toes stepped on here, I’ll get some updates posted towards the end of the week. All suggestions are welcome, they’ll just be adjusted as they go through my own hand.
 
This looks like a very interesting thread. I might also contribute my own stuff later. BTW, good job! 👍
 
mburn16 said:
Down into the more difficult part of it now - designing the windows, roof, and furnishings. The seating layout is in (first image), and I’ve designed the chandeliers (from scratch - second photo):

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8803/topviewk.png

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1411/chandelier.jpg

Thinking of putting the baptistery in the area indicated in red, I’d like some feedback on this. Also debating whether I should make the choir loft stepped/sloped downwards, or level.
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I like the design very much overall, but I’d make several modifications and I have several suggestions.

Keep the choir loft level. This is especially important in those glorious instances in which you’re doing an instrumental Bach mass or something similar and all the instrumentalists need a seat. Their seats can’t possibly be level on a slanted surface, and with the larger instruments that perhaps need to lean on the floor, this would pose many problems. Plan for those occasions.

I think the placement of the baptistry is, honestly, a bit silly. I’d either move it somewhere in the sanctuary, or if you’re feeling a little modern and jazzy, I’d move it into the very back of the nave, near the doors. Whatever you do, I’d do a pedestal baptistry. It’s more traditional, and if you decide to place it near the back of the nave, it can double as the holy water font that people use as they come in to bless themselves.

Either placement you choose, I think the current location has to go. When you move the baptistry, I suggest extending the pews of the nave at least up to the level of the center line of the aisle of the pews in the transept, if not further.

I think the altars are in excellent positions. One thing, however, is this. Whenever you design the high altar, make sure that you design it on a high set of steps, in order that the people will be able to see the Sacrifice when it is offered on that altar. It may not be the best idea, but the GIRM calls for all the altars to be “fixed,” so it’s not like you can just move the versus populum altar when the priest decides to offer the Sacrifice on the high altar. I also suggest you move the high altar more forward, closer to the ad orientem altar. This looks better in proportions, I think. In fact, I think a better idea would be to make a compromise. Move both the high altar forward and the ad orientem altar back. This way, not only does it look better proportionately with the space, but it also allows the decor on the high altar serve as a magnificent reredos to the ad orientem altar. But I still stand with the steps idea. That will not only allow a proper looking ad orientem celebration, but it will also look more glorious.

The lights, admittedly, aren’t my favorite. But I think they can work. I honestly think they’d look better in gold, and I generally hate gold.
 
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