Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful time of the year --

We pray you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday! We have SO much to be thankful for!

1 Timothy 4:4

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving..."

Blessings and PEACE.

JHH

Communication of VISION

One important thing for churches to remember is COMMUNICATION of a church's vision; small or large, short-term or long-term. It is easy (and very common) for a building committee to become isolated from the rest of the congregation during their tenure of work. During this time there is a tremendous amount of information the architect and design team provide which must be "processed" in some way by the church. There are many decisions to make, processes to review, timelines to set, schedules and budgets to analyze. There are many parts to the building PROCESS. Many times, due to the complexity of this process, the information that is accumulated and gathered is not communicated to the congregation.

Share and communicate as much as possible along the way! Set basic Milestones to share with everyone. The more understanding and "buy-in" a congregation has, the more successful is the building campaign. Even something as simple as a picture, like the one above, goes a long way in communicating a church's vision.

Remember, a new family life center, sanctuary, addition to an existing building, or even a remodel project can also have an influence on your community and neighborhoods. What a terrific opportunity to share and reach out to those who need Christ in their lives.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish..."
Proverbs 29:18

Share the vision!

Blessings,

JHH

Is the building really important? YES ! ~ postscript ~

Hurricane Katrina was devastating! Utterly and totally devastating. It has wiped out entire communities, neighborhoods, families and people. It will take a tremendous amount of time, patience, money and hard work to recover from this. And, unfortunately, some will not be able to recover. They have lost absolutely everything! Everything. This is a difficult concept for me to even understand.

In all of the pain and misery that has been experienced, I have witnessed first hand how church facilities can really help -- they are helping the helpers. Gymnasiums and family life centers across this blessed nation have been transformed into refuges -- SANCTUARIES! Real SANCTUARIES! God is most definitely present in this national outpouring of love and comfort.

Just like the Boy Scouts of America's motto: "Be Prepared" -- isn't it wonderful and comforting to see churches prepared to help and minister to those in need during this trial? AMEN!

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you.

JHH

Understanding Space PROGRAMMING and Budgets

One of the first phases in the design process is programming the project and establishing a budget. In my opinion, too little time and effort is spent by architects explaining and illuminating these foundational design phases. This is ironic, seeing that the entire project starts here!

Q: What is programming?

It is simple: it is collecting, assembling and synthesizing what the Client wants; it is the Client's "wish list" for the project. Sometimes it takes a very sophisticated format, complete with room names, dimensions, square footages, furniture needs by room, colors and materials, even sketches of each different room or area desired. However, most of the time, church clients don't have an "in-house" programmer to assemble these pieces. They simply say: "we want a Family Life Center that seats 500, and feeds (banquets) 350 people. The Architect can help "fill in" the rest.

Q: How do we establish a budget?

First, establish a good design and construction TEAM to work together as early as possible! The architect can begin to synthesize the program and help establish working budgets, building concepts and systems, however, this is extremely difficult to do accurately without direct input from a qualified Contractor. Historically, the Architect's cost data is only a "good" as their last few projects. Daily changes in the marketplace make it impossible to estimate accurately without the intelligent input of the contractor.

Blessings.

JHH

Understanding the Design Processes

"There's more to it than the 'blueprints'..."

One of the first concepts to understand about architecture and design is that it is a PROCESS. It is not a black & white, right or wrong, left or right experience. It is an iterative process; that is, it works and progresses in iterations. One step builds upon the previous one and increases with time and complexity. In other words, you cannot start with a final design; you have to "arrive" at it through the iterations -- the process. A good architect will not only help you wade through these processes, but he will also try to educate and communicate them prior (and during) to beginning.

Architects organize their work into six (6) very basic phases. Understanding these phases is important because 99 out of 100 architects use them to some degree.

They are as follows:

Phase 1a : Programming
- During this phase the architect will help create and assist the owner in developing a project's design parameters and over-all scope of work; this includes helping them set priorities, goals for the project, the budget, project data, generalized concepts and needs.

Phase 1b : Site analysis
- This phase includes land planning, urban design, and environmental evaluation of the physical, economic, and social impact of proposed land use including the environment, ecology, traffic, population patterns, zoning site constraints, parking studies, traffic patterns and utility availability.

Phase 2 : Schematic Design
- From the Owner's approved design program and budget (Phases 1a & 1b), the architect develops solutions to satisfy the technical and aesthetic requirements. This is usually provided in the form of basic relationship diagrams and sketches that try to capture the big idea of the project. Architects refer to this "big idea" as the parti.

Phase 3 : Design Development
- Based on the Owner-approved schematic design (Phase 2), the architect develops drawings that graphically describe the size and character of the building. This includes the materials to be used and the engineering systems (structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, acoustical, civil, Audio Visual etc.).

Phase 4 : Construction Documents
- After the design development phase has been approved by the owner, the architect starts the largest portion of work: the Construction Documents. These documents describe, in graphic form, all of the essential areas of work to be done for the project. This includes many sheets of drawings for each section of work; architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and Audio/Visual.

Phase 5 : Bidding and Contract Negotiation
- The architect helps the owner establish bidding procedures, issues design/drawing addenda if required, evaluates proposed product substitutions, analyzes bids from contractors (if open bid method is used -- more on different document delivery methods in future BLOGS) and even makes recommendations for the selection of General Contractors.

Phase 6 : Construction Observation
- Many people think that the architect builds the building, or is on-site every day to observe the Contractor. This is NOT the case. The architect observes the Contractor's work along the construction process by making site visits that are appropriate to each stage. The goal is to help assure the contractor's work conforms to the requirements of the Contract Documents, that the standards of workmanship are upheld, and that the work conforms to the required codes (of which there are many!). This includes the interpretation of contracts, clarification of his design INTENT, and the resolution of conflicts (ex: Owner & Contractor).

This is a "bird's eye view" of the process. We will review each phase individually and to greater detail in future BLOGS. But, for now, I hope this has been somewhat helpful.

Next ... "Understanding space PROGRAMMING and budgets" ...

Blessings.

JHH

"We want a cathedral on a design-build budget" ...

It's all about EXPECTATIONS!

How many times have you gone to make a purchase, made it, and then been totally surprised when you opened it when you got home? You discover that it is totally different that what you had expected. Maybe the color was wrong (white, not blue). Maybe it was the wrong size. Maybe it wasn't even the correct product at all!

Believe it or not, this happens all too often with church design and construction programs. A building committee or governing board may have their minds set on one thing, one set of expectations, and the result is completely different. This happens with the budget, the size of the project, the level of inherent complexity, and even with building materials (stone vs. wood).

One of the most important things to do is to establish the Client's Expectations -- starting on DAY 1. It is easier to hedge against budget problems, design and program issues, "feature creep" (when the program changes in the design process: example - adding additional classrooms, changing the size of a lobby, adding parking spaces etc. -- "it's not very large, so it's easy to change and shouldn't cost that much"), and schedules. When everyone shares a common vision of the project and has the same level of expectations (that means everyone), the project will usually run better.

This chasm in expectations manifests in project budgets for both design and construction. Clients usually want and expect to get more for their money than is usually possible. They want a "cathedral" when all they can really afford is something very different. Today, this is seen mostly in what the construction industry calls Design/Build. This method of project delivery can be appropriate, and work well for all parties, as long as everyone's expectations are equalized prior to beginning the project.

As my grandfather said: "there ain't no Santa Clause -- there ain't no free lunch."

One favorite quote I like to give a Client prior to beginning the design and construction process:

Prices

- It is unwise to pay too much. But it is worse to pay too little.

- When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that is all.

- When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

- The common law of business balances prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It cannot be done.

- If you deal with the lowest bidder, it was well to add something for the risk you run.

- And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.

- There is hardly anything in the world that someone can't make a little worse and see a little cheaper -- and people who consider the price alone are this man's lawful prey.

John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Easy to say? - NO.

Difficult to do? - YES


Next ... "Understanding the design and construction processes" ...

Blessings.

JHH

Is the building really important?

Yes...No...Maybe...

I like to ask this question prior to starting any project for a church. Why? Because whether it is a fundamental "evangelical" church or a more established denomination, it is important for me to be able to identify and establish with the church just HOW they view their built environment. Does the building relate well to their worship service? Does the building help or hinder their service? Does the building reinforce or detract from their worship service? What do they want the service to accomplish, and how does their building help them achieve this? And what of other components like education spaces? How do they help or not help a congregation's ability to learn about Christ?

Most modern-day Christians will tell you that "the building is not important", however, I believe this is not totally honest intellectually. Most know somewhat intuitively that Christ lives in their hearts, not in the buildings (as in the Old Testament Temples, i.e. Holy of Holies). Yet there seems to be a remnant of thought, very deeply rooted, that still places an emphasis on the edifice. If this were not the case, church groups, building committees and pastoral boards would not have as much religious "heartburn" over architect's church designs. How often I have heard: "...we just want it to look like a church..." To which I counter: What does a New Testament church look like? Please show me in the scriptures... isn't the Church US? The people?"

Is this a lingering human emotion from the past -- from the days of Cathedrals, high Gothic and Renaissance structures that all stretch as high as possible to touch the clouds, and, perhaps even God? Do we still Romantisize church? Do we still want beautiful and upward-reaching spaces to help us worship? To help set the "tone" of our worship? To help get us "in the mood" for worship? Do we need buildings in order to accomplish this?

I heard a Dallas/Fort Worth disc jockey (Ron Chapman) once say: "People don't know what they like; they like what they know." This works for church architecture as well. Most do not know what kind of new church they like; they like what they already know. My challenge is to gain a keen understanding and insight into their self-view, and synthesize and express THEM through the building. Each have their own unique personalities and aesthetic. Just like us.

Next ... "We want a cathedral on a design-build budget" ...

Blessings.

JHH