Sacred Spaces Liturgical Design, Inc.

Master Planning

Master planning encompasses a range of activities.  These can include:

• Designing and overseeing construction of a new liturgical space in its entirety, which may include: architecture, sound design, interior design, artwork, schematics and drawings, 3-D pre-visualization, implementation and installations.
• Designing and overseeing major renovations of a liturgical space, which may include: architectural elements such as layout or floor plan, interior design, artwork, schematics and drawings, pre-visualization, implementation and installations.
• Designing and overseeing renovations or implementations of interiors and artwork.
• Client advocacy.  This may include: 1. Working with your chosen general contractor or identifying an appropriate general contractor to meet your needs and ensure timely and appropriate project completion; 2. Working with your chosen architect to ensure the design is appropriate for your liturgical needs; 3. Acting as liaison among or overseeing your general contractor, sound designer, and/or architect to ensure all needs are appropriately met in a timely fashion.

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Sample Project: Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Morganza, Maryland ~ 2005

The Scope of the Project

Saint Joseph Catholic Church parish is 300 years old.  The current building, built in 1860, will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary in 2010.  Sacred Spaces was honored when we were contacted by the pastor, Father Keith Woods, to create a five year Master Plan for the restoration and repair of the church in preparation for this celebration. 

Saint Joseph Catholic Church is a small country parish of about 500 families.  Some of these families can trace their ancestral roots back 300 years to the founding of the church.  The church has been the center for the parish community for generations and has special meaning for the entire region.  Any proposed enhancements to Saint Joseph Catholic Church during the restoration and renovation project needed to be designed to emphasize, symbolize and further draw on the historical pride of the community as well as follow the guidelines of the USCCB. 

The general feeling when first entering Saint Joseph Catholic Church is that the parish had in the past found many ways to keep the church in good condition even though funding might not have been available to keep it aesthetically in tact.    Saint Joseph Catholic Church is a fairly large church, seating about 500 parishioners.  Most of the church has been white washed but the stained glass windows are still in place as well as the ornate reredos behind the altar of sacrifice.  There are two side shrines – one in honor of the Sacred Heart and the other in honor of the Blessed Virgin.  There are four statues in the sanctuary:  Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin, Saint Ann and Mary as a child, and Saint Teresa.  

In the apse there is an original stenciled decorative band complemented by another stencil stretching the entire length of the presidium arch.  These stencils bear witness to the past decorative treatment that at an earlier time created the ambiance of the interior of the church.  Such features were “simplified” by the white washing.

The statuary had been repainted many times over the years with enameled paints, devoid of shading and realistic accents; the apse had been similarly painted out, leaving only a hint of the former harmony in design; the ceiling had been replaced with acoustical tile; the capitals had all been removed from the columns and the engaged pilasters in an attempt to “modernize” the church; the Stations had been white washed; poor and inadequate general lighting, with very little accent lighting, exists throughout; the balcony railing had been replaced with a white picket fence for safety reasons when the air conditioning system had been installed a number of years ago – causing the floor to be raised to an unsafe level with the existing railing.  

Sacred Spaces was invited to prepare a five year master plan against which the parish could raise the necessary funding so that the renovation could be completed by the 150th anniversary event. Budget constraints did not allow for the parish to undergo extensive scope of the project in a single year, so we created a plan that allowed for a number of options as funding became available over the five year period.  While the parish is not wealthy by any means, there is a considerable amount of new condominium construction under way in the neighborhood and pastor projected steady growth in the near future. 

The Process

5 Year - Phased Restoration and Renovation Plan for Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Year	Work to be accomplished
2005	Phase 1: Repainting and refinishing, in full color, the life-size (five foot) statuary of the Blessed Mother, the Sacred Heart, Saint Ann and the child Mary and Saint Teresa.  The repainting and refinishing of these statues became key to the kick off of the fund raising campaign.   The statues were painted in a number of transparent glazes and finished in an heirloom varnish in order to suggest a level of quality of the work about to be undertaken. The statues were finished and installed before Christmas and were by the parish with much acclaim.
2006	Phase 2:  Master Planning - Scope of Work During this phase, Sacred Spaces developed a flexible conceptual design plan for the church that provided the context for the rest of the restoration and renovation work and included: Architectural detailing to restore the original elements that were removed over the years including the columns, railings, sanctuary furniture and artwork.    A painting scheme for entire church, A new general lighting scheme as well as essential accent lighting, Stencil designs that incorporate some of the original stencil paintings found, Redesign of the confessional, both inside and out, including sound proofing and new lighting, Design and fabrication of new sanctuary furniture:  A new altar, new ambo, and new ambry   Options for a new marble sanctuary floor.
2006	Phase 3:  Beginning to Implement the Master Plan Repaint and refinish Stations of the Cross or, depending on budget, possibly purchasing new Stations in fiberglass. Thoroughly clean and repair or replace broken statuary and architectural details including the Altar angels.
2007	Phase 4: Remove acoustical tile ceiling and replace with new drywall ceiling. Design and paint the ceiling with a traditional blue sky and gold star pattern.
2008	Phase 5: Paint center church walls. Remove, the existing “fence” railing in the balcony/choir loft. Design a new railing or grill work for the balcony/choir loft. Fabricate and replace railing.
2009	Phase 6: Fabricate new or rebuild a sound proof and lighted confessional. Create a new stencil for the apse, incorporating the original stencils into the design. Paint a mural design for the apse and arches. Paint a cloud mural on the ceiling of the apse.
2010	Phase 7: Redesign the Sacred Heart Altar to accommodate a new Ambry in the Tabernacle area above the Mensa and to create a new setting for the Baptismal font in this area. Design and fabricate detailing on Blessed Mother’s Altar shrine, for balance. Design and fabricate a new marble Altar of Sacrifice. Design and fabricate a new marble Ambo. Depending on budget, design a new marble floor

The Result

Sacred Spaces has full capabilities to handle every step of the process. We take pride in drawing together a well trained from our uniquely qualified artisans and craftsmen to carry out the design vision for each commission. Our artists are trained in the Renaissance arts, as well as in the best contemporary design methods and techniques. In addition we have formed established relationships with artists in the US, Italy, Poland and throughout Europe.

Budget: At the beginning of each phase, we detail scheduling requirements and provide estimates for each job. As designs are developed and artists are assigned a firm budget is developed.

Sacred Spaces Inc Master Planning Services can be utilized to develop plans to fit both your budget and your projected time frame. It is essential to create a plan to optimize time and money at the start of the project. Sacred Spaces will develop an overall conceptual design that will provide the design context for all future work.

 

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