Lakewood 7th Day Adventist Church PHASE 2
Details Project Type: Ecclesiastic / Addition, RenovationLocation: Lakewood, Ohio
Project Status: Designed 2018; In fundraising
Gross Floor Area: 5000 ft²
Client: Lakewood Seventh Day Adventist
Budget: $900,000 Description
Architecture Office completed renovations of Lakewood Seventh-Day Adventist’s sanctuary building in 2018. In this second phase, Architecture Office is adding a second floor to the church’s community building, replacing its exterior facade and creating a unifying aesthetic across all three church buildings. This phase will add a patio and ground floor welcome area connecting the sanctuary, community building and gymnasium—providing ADA accessibility across all building levels. Doubling the size of LSDA’s community and administrative areas, this project creates a dedicated space for the church’s outreach programs and introduces a central entry point to manage circulation.
The community building addition provides LSDA with new teaching, gathering and administrative spaces. A double-sized classroom with removable room separator occupies the north wing of the addition, and a classroom on the south wing overlooks the church’s gymnasium and lobby. A U-shape layout, accessible via the new lobby and new auxiliary staircase, manages circulation to the five levels. Two conference rooms are located in the center of the U-shape, with storage and restrooms against the southwest wall. The addition’s northeast corridor is illuminated by a floor to ceiling window.
The church buildings are unified by a perforated brick facade that extends across the new lobby and community building. The facade uses rows of recessed brick that align with datums from the historic facade to tie the two together. During the day, the perforations cast dappled sunlight into the office. At night, arches set behind the facade are backlit by interior lighting, referencing the arch forms throughout the church’s sanctuary. A covered exterior area is recessed under the second floor addition, protecting the new lobby entrance from the elements. A light well set behind the facade terminates in a planter to lend light and color to interior spaces. A sandstone patio with herringbone patterned tile provides a gathering area and buffer from the church’s parking lot.
A V-shaped indentation in the building’s facade and recessed entryway creates a visual focal point that draws visitors towards the welcome area. The double-height lobby connects the church’s three buildings and five floors, enabling congregants and staff to access all of the church’s facilities via elevator and stairs. Contrasting with the historic building’s smaller, punch-window openings, large windows illuminate the welcoming area and second floor balcony.