PROJECT DETAILS

Christian Revival Church, Bloemfontein, approached us in 2011 regarding additions and alterations to the existing main auditorium.

The brief required additions that would house: the media department, children’s church facilities, ablutions, a bookshop and a coffee shop for fellowship after services.

Certain factors we considered in the conceptual phase of the project included:

• Access to the site and movement of pedestrians and vehicles on the site posed a number of challenges.

• As the planning and development of the church complex had evolved incrementally, circulation patterns and access to various facilities were not optimal.

• The existing buildings on the campus had varying styles that were the result of the architectural fashion at the time. To comprehensively change or alter the appearance of these buildings would be a huge and costly undertaking.

• The size of the congregation as well as the various consecutive services called for the consideration of other spaces that are normally associated with building types accommodating large numbers of people, such as large auditoria, cathedrals, and even stadia.

• Accommodating members of the congregation in threshold spaces, either outside the main auditorium or waiting for a service to end and a new one to start, appeared to merit serious consideration.

These factors were all incorporated in our final proposal in a cohesive architectural language that met the pragmatic requirements of the client and the satisfaction of the end-user.

COMPLETION DATE

2013