“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” Though this statement by Alan Lakein refers to personal time management, it also explains what we do with many of our clients who expect to expand their facilities in phases. We rely on years of experience in church architecture and the guidance of God to help us impart wise counsel on the best strategies to use to plan for the future.
We help our partner churches develop strategies for bringing the future into the present; strategies with economic benefits that will be realized both now and later. As part of our initial analysis of a church’s needs, we look at their history to determine the ministry spaces that will be needed and incorporate them into the plans. A church may be projecting a large increase in the size of their congregation ten years down the road, but that does not mean that they should build for that now as it would overwhelm the people using it. In fact, too many empty seats makes people feel uncomfortable, giving them the impression that the church is dwindling rather than thriving, contributing to a reduction in the number of people who attend services. On the contrary, if a church builds for only their current needs without intentional planning for future phases within the current construction, later expansions will be more costly and intrusive.
Though finances dictate what can be built in the present phase, they also give us, as architects, the opportunity to use our creativity in providing solutions for tying in future spaces economically. The following are strategies we have used to assist churches in making present spaces both easily and economically expandable:
- Build a wall at the back or side of the worship area that is designed to be easily removed and has tie-ins for the present portion of the sanctuary to be connected with the new one.
- Construct a balcony framework but do not fit it out by placing a temporary wall in front of it so that it does not appear to be part of the current space.
- Pour the concrete floor for a future second story with steel projecting through an easily-removable roof covering so that the structure exists for walls of the second story to be attached with ease at a later time.
In these scenarios, preparation for the future leads to financial benefits when the time is right to increase the size of a worship space. Though the initial stages of a project may seem small, planning for the future makes the most of a limited budget through savings in the long-run.
Rule of Thumb:
When a space averages 80% of its capacity, it appears full. Conversely, if it is at less than 50% capacity it is also unwelcoming.
