Refreshing and Renewal
John W Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson once said,
“Renewal is not just innovation and change. It is also the process of bringing the results of change into line with our purposes.”
The purposes of churches are often set out in a Vision statement, which explains their raisons d’etre (reason for being) of the church their local setting and how this aligns with their missional activities. It might be described as answering the question, ‘Why are we here?’
The secret of positive renewal is to harness innovation in such a way that it aligns changes that we implement with our overriding purposes and vision.
CPL Architects are pleased to have recently completed a new church building for The Gate, Reading, who are a church known for their emphasis on Refreshing and Renewal. The project represents a close collaboration to provide new church and community facilities replacing the original building, which was no longer suitable for their needs.
The new accessible and sustainable building is designed in stone and copper cladding and includes a contemporary double height, flexible worship space with baptistry and integrated AV systems, a café, modern toilet facilities, flexible meeting rooms and storage facilities on the ground floor level.
The first floor is designed to include flexible teaching spaces, meeting rooms and associated kitchen and toilet facilities with lift access and a dedicated AV room for live streaming of services.
The second floor is designed to include offices, flexible meeting and conference facilities with lift access and associated refreshment and toilet facilities. There is also an Art Room which is designed to benefit from a large overhead north light for painting, which forms an important part of the worship at The Gate Church.
The site has been carefully landscaped to provide parking with electric charging points, cycle storage and soft landscaping, including an external terrace for the café, a secure play area for children and a garden area.
The new building is designed to meet BREEAM requirements and includes high levels of insulation, underfloor heating and passive ventilation.
If you have an exciting vision that requires refreshing and renewal of your site and buildings, please contact us at admin@cplarchitects.co.uk to find out how we can help you realise your vision.