OFFER OF SERVICES ON RELIGIOUS PROJECTS
Planning a new Church, Family Life Center or Church Addition is a complex and expensive undertaking. We offer our services to meet with your Building Committee at no cost, or obligation, in order to help you get started. Most Building Committees have lots of questions about the design and construction process. Since we have designed a number of Churches, we can answer a lot of your questions.
PROGRAM OF SPACE NEEDS
What is the Vision this Church has for God’s Ministry? We need to look at your current needs for space in order to house your current Ministry, and the long range needs for space, that will house this Church’s long range Ministry. We believe that you should decide what Vision this Church has for God’s Ministry over the next 5, 10, and 15 years. This Vision is the basis for a MASTER PLAN of the Church’s long-range building plans.
The PROGRAM OF SPACE NEEDS should list the activities planned in each space, and the number of people planned for that activity. Contact us for help with your PROGRAM OF SPACE NEEDS. With the PROGRAM OF SPACE NEEDS, we can then allocate square footage needed for each space. We can add in the additional spaces needed for circulation, toilets, mechanical, walls, etc. to arrive at the square footage needed for the building. With this, we can next make an estimate of the COST OF THE BUILDING. Now we need to add in all the “other cost” such as land, site development, parking, playgrounds, landscaping, furnishings, equipment, sound and audio visual systems, special lighting, Architectural and Engineering fees, financing and a contingency amount for the unexpected. All of these items will give us an estimate of the TOTAL PROJECT COST.
Few Churches can build all the space in their MASTER PLAN at one time. Most will determine what they can afford as Phase One, then plan for additional phases, until the MASTER PLAN can be realized. The size of the site may limit the size of the MASTER PLAN.
WHAT CAN YOU AFFORD?
The “Economic Design” is more important than the “Architectural Design” and shapes what your Architect can design to house your Vision. Before the Architect draws the first sketch, you need to have a handle on the “Building Budget” and the “Total Project Budget”. The Church should consider hiring a qualified financial planner, or Church Consultant, to assist in developing the financial program and assist with a “Capital Fund Raising Campaign”.
READY TO HIRE AN ARCHITECT?
You need to be familiar with the above information before you hire an Architect. When you are ready, we would appreciate the opportunity to familiarize you with our firm, and make a proposal to design your project. Reviewing Floor Plans from Churches we have designed should be a help in seeing what other Churches have built, and may assist in helping you decide how large the spaces need to be. Please use us as a resource as you are getting started.