contemporary sanctuary

CONTEMPORARY SANCTUARYconstructing an addition to Chestnut Methodist Church. Newport News, VA.

Sarah RosenthalMasters of Architecture

Virginia Polytechnic + State UniversityMay 2012

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About the Author:Sarah spent her high school years in Germany and loves to travel. Her guilty pleasure is watching her kitchen hero, Anthony Bourdain, on the Travel Channel’s No Reservations. Her ideal evening is cooking Vietnamese oxtail soup while listening to Evening Edition on the radio. She considers architecture to be a passion rather than a job. This book is the culmination of 8 years of architectural training at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. Excited to be beginning her career, she fully intends on practicing architecture for the rest of her life. She hopes to be designing your next house.

The institution of religion stems from the inspiration to question.-Louis Kahn, “Talks with Students”

Sarah Louise Rosenthal

Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute

and State University in partial fulfi llment fo the requirements for the

degree of:

MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE

in

THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTUE AND URBAN STUDIES

Steve ThompsonChairman

Bill Galloway

Committee Member

Scott Gartner

Committee Member

May 1, 2012Blacksburg, Virginia

keywords:Church Methodist Oculus Tent Amphorae Wall Brick

CONTEMPORARY SANCTUARYconstructing an addition to Chestnut Methodist Church. Newport News, VA.

CONTEMPORARY SANCTUARY:constructing an addition to Chestnut Methodist Church,

Newport News, VA.

Sarah Rosenthal

ABSTRACT

The project offers a design for an addition to a Methodist Church in Newport News, Virginia. The proposal includes a new sanctuary, kitchen, meeting room, and entrance.

Axonometric inquiries, detailed sections, and explorations with 3-d models document the structural configuration and the inner sanctuary walls of the addition.

In addition to the overall design, further investigations include details for seating design, lighting schemes, and flooring specifications.

My work this year would not be possible without the encouragement, support, and energy of Professor Burt Rodriguez. He is an inspiration, and I thank him!

Much thanks also to my committee. Your patience, encouragement, and knowledge are invaluable.

I would like to dedicate this work to Fieldstone Methodist Church in Christiansburg, Virginia. The church members and their dedication to their program are an inspiration.I would also like to thank Pastor Larry Edmunds and Music Director Curtis Snider of Chestnut Memorial United Methodist Church in Newport News, Virginia for their help and support throughout the year.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Existing Conditions...................................................................11

II. Design to Form.......................................................................17

III. Form to Design.......................................................................29

IV. Beauty......................................................................................49

V. Sunday, December 24, 2017...............................................65

VI. Wednesday, July 18, 2018...................................................71

11

I .Existing Conditions

12

Chestnut Memorial United Methodist Church houses a United Methodist congregation in Newport News, Virginia. The pastor expressed an interest in a design for a new sanctuary. The existing sanctuary, though it is much loved by the traditional community, proves to be unsatisfactory for more modern styles of casual worship. The pastor

finds the major flaw in Chestnut’s sanctuary to be the disconnection that the stage creates between those on the stage- the choir, musicians, and worship leader- and those watching in the pews beyond

This thesis tells the story of creating a sanctuary form which both pays homage to the design standards of Chestnut Church, and also allows the designer to create a beautiful building.

.

13

Main Entraince to the Existing Church

The Existing Sanctuary Space

The Steps to the Sanctuary Stage

14

Satellite View of the Site

15

The new sanctuary replaces the existing east wing of the church.

17

I I .Light / Tent / Structured

DESIGN to FORM

18

Early Ideas

for the Sanctuary

19

In contrast to the linear symmetry of the existing sanctuary, the rotational symmetry of the new sanctuary grows from the structural necessities of the oculus. The tent-like design allows for an open floor plan, free of columns, so the community can adapt the

worship space to any desired arrangement.

20

Early Ideas

for the Structure

21

The Tent-like Structure supports the Oculus.

22

Early Ideas for the Wall

23

Section cut through the new sanctuary outer wall, looking west.

24

Section cut through where the old and new buildings meet, looking north.

25

Section cut through the inner sanctuary wall, looking west.

26

Above: Photo of interior of model showing oculusRight: Final plan of oculus

28

Section cut through the oculus

29

I I I .Bricks / Wall / Reconsidered

FORM to DESIGN

30

The form of Roman amphorae comes from its container. Its shape allowed the Romans to maximize the amount of product held in a ship’s cargo hull. A curvilinear module, it becomes an ideal form to base a design for an interior

curtain wall, which the congregation experiences as they enter the sanctuary.

An Early Version of the Plan

31

An Early Version of the Plan

32

A paper model folds to become Amphorae-shaped.

33

Cut-outs from the paper model become stained glass.

34

Scraps of amphorae cut-outs become a layered collage . The motif becomes tilework in the church.

35

Cut-outs from the paper model become stained glass.

3636

Two computer versions of the Amphorae (above and left).

37

The paper model, put-together.

38

Early version of the amphorae wall in plan.

39

Final version of the amphorae wall in plan.

41

A series of ties anchor a steel string chain of the amphorae bricks in place. This system allows for adjustments upon installation, as well as eases the accessibility of any modifications or repairs over time.

42

Final version of the amphorae wall in

section looking north.

43

View of the entry hallway to the sanctuary.

45

The traditional rectangular brick form proved unsuitable for the intentions of the wall. Experiments in model form through various iterations, each questioning the traditional notion of Wall, concluded in the amphorae design.

46

Model Photo

47

Models allowed for experimentation in the texture and material pallet of the sanctuary.

49

IV.Contemporary Sanctuary / Proposed

BEAUTY

51

Elevation looking west.

53

Elevation looking south.

54

N0’ 10’ 20’ 30’ 50’40’

Overall plan of Chesnut Church

55

0’ 10’ 20’ 30’N

Existing Sanctuary

56

0’ 10’ 20’ 30’

Two perspectives approaching the

new sanctuary from the main street.

57

0’ 10’ 20’ 30’N

Proposed Addition

59

Transverse section through existing and new sanctuary,

looking north.

60

Flooring finishings throughout the new sanctuary

61

Flooring Detail

63

Cross section through building, looking west.

65

V.Sunday December 24, 2017. 9am.

66

Self-breaking compression castersheperd caster PSC50223BK-Usheperd caster PSC50223BK-U

Aluminum arms

Tubular steel frame

Molded glass-filled polypropylene

Sanctuary Seating Specifications

67

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January - February 2014 March - April 2014 May - August 2014 September - October 2014 November - December 2014

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ECable recieving fixture, stainless steel

Structural frame, 1/8” steel wire

GE Energy Smart® 20W A21 CFL Light Bulb, dimming

Current-carrying hanging wire, brushed steel coating

Rice paper globe, designed by Daniel Schipper

B

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Contemporary Service Seating Arrangement

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Church custodian Linwood Richardson helps the director of music ministries, Curtis Snider, set up the chairs for the 11 AM Sunday contemporary service.

They anticipate many people will come, as it is Christmas Eve, so they use all the chairs. The architect

designed the chairs specifically to be mobile and compact- they have rollers, are made with hollow and light tubular steel frames, and are stackable. They roll the stacks of chairs out from the storage walls located along the amphorae wall. The flooring patterns found

in the sanctuary’s wood floors guide Linwood and Curtis to lay out the chairs evenly without needing

any other measuring markers. Then they reconfigure the lights, using the pin anchors attached to the ten

beams that intersect with the oculus, so that they hang in alignment with the communion table in the center

of the sanctuary.Contemporary Service Lighting Arrangement

71

VI .Wednesday July 18, 2018. 5pm.

73

Administrative assistant to the church Diane Barnes steps out of the car, carrying a large tray of casserole for the evening potluck and Wednesday night service. When she reaches the new sanctuary entrance, her husband opens the right-side door, as it has the

large handle. She steps into the vestibule, but can go no further because of the second set of doors. Her husband enters the vestibule as well, and then opens the left-hand door for her, as it also has the large handle. She enters into the church lobby. The casserole

successfully arrives in the kitchen without spilling; thanks to Diane’s husband knowing which door is easiest to open in the vestibule. The design challenges our automatic action of always opening the door on the same side.

74

Door Detail looking west

75

Early Axon Diagram of entry

76

Wednesday Potluck Seating Arrangement

77

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Wednesday Potluck Lighting Arrangement

78

The new entrance offers an outdoor garden for small discussion groups.

79

CONTEMPORARY SANCTUARYWORKS CITED

1. Latour, Alessandra. Louis I. Kahn: Writings, Lectures, Interviews. “Talks with Students”. by Louis

Kahn. 154-190.

In Kahn’s talks with his students, he often discusses how he worked with his clients. This research helped clarified the way in which I worked with Chestnut Church. Kahn’s notions of beauty, form, and design interested me throughout the project. I also

applied his theories on form and design to help me organize the thesis book.

2. Lost Ships of Rome. Dir. by Robert Hartel. Narrated by Liev Schreiber. WNET.ORG Properties LLC

and Windfall Films. 2010.

This documentary on public television first introduced me to amphorae. Its visualization of how the Romans used the amphorae inspired me to apply similar principles in my design.

3. Magnago Lampugnani, Vittorio. The architecture of the 20th century in drawings. New York :

Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. 1982.

This book was both a valuable visual reference to study how other architects convey their ideas through drawing, and also a wonderful source for quotations from these architects. The quote on the final page by Hans Hollein is found in this book.

4. “Design on Demand with Daniel Schipper.” Origami Blog. April 5, 2010. Cited March 20, 2012.

<http://origamiblog.com/daniel-schipper/2010/04/05>

Reading this blog inspired me to use Daviel Schipper’s design for a origami lampshade as the lighting fixtures in the new sanctuary.

Google Maps was used for satellite photographs.All other photographs by the author.

Architecture is a spiritual order, realized through building.-Hans Hollein, 1962

contemporary sanctuary

Documents

chestnut methodist church

fieldstone methodist

newport news

church members

university of virginia

seating design

overall design

sarah rosenthalabout