When it comes to capturing the maximum opportunities that a church site has to offer, look to the master planning leadership that your architect can provide in tandem with a landscape architect.
In that vein, this month’s article is a slight departure from my usual solo writing, for I have invited the comments of landscape architect Barry W. Starke, FASLA. Starke is president of Earth Design Associates in Fauquier County, with whom our firm has jointly developed several church master plans. His thoughts are interwoven with mine in this article, in much the same way that a church should have a symbiotic mindset to relating its buildings to the land.
Jim DePasquale
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When beginning an expansion project, whether an existing facility or an entirely new building complex, churches usually do have some idea of what they need in terms of buildings and interior spaces.
Not so with the great outdoors. When it comes to the site, the church often hasn’t given it a thought. The site, however, offers a wonderful opportunity to help fulfill the church’s mission and express to the community who the church is. Appropriate treatment of the site can establish a strong sense of place and define the church.
There are many complexities about site planning and design to be taken into account, including slopes, soils, drainage, utilities and traffic management.
However, the basic approach is quite simple. First, think about outdoor space needs the same as you consider interior space needs. When thinking about the outdoors, you generally have to think bigger, but you will assign applicable requirements to outdoor spaces as you do when determining size, shape and function of internal worship space or classrooms.
After the requirements of the outdoor spaces have been determined, it’s simply a matter of matching the requirements with the opportunities and constraints of the site and designing the outdoor “rooms.”
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A delightful place for gathering and fellowship before and after the worship service is a courtyard, which has been landscaped in the outdoor space between buildings. A portion of the courtyard might work as an outdoor education room. Another area of the site could be designed for worship, perhaps as an outdoor ampitheater; yet another can be used for special celebrations, weddings and receptions. Serene prayer gardens are always a comforting and even healing place. Meanwhile, the more intense activity of a play area may be located adjacent to the education spaces. And finally, it is appropriate landscaping that frames the building, establishing harmony with the site.
Unfortunately, with most building projects, site is an afterthought and becomes a place to stash the cars and plant a few bushes. By addressing the use of the site from the very beginning, understanding that the spaces between buildings are as important as the buildings themselves the church will significantly enhance its ability to fulfill its mission.
Jim DePasquale, AIA, a member of Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., is currently chair of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture of the Virginia Society, AIA, and a partner in a Richmond architectural firm. This column is a regular feature of the Religious Herald, appearing monthly. Send building, landscape or site-related questions to the editor at jwhite@religiousherald. org or directly to DePasquale at [email protected].