Must a Church Look Like a Church?

By Nathaniel Rhine

Recently, I was fortunate enough to have received a wonderful email from an old friend of mine back in The United States, whom I shall call Yvette H, for confidentiality reasons. She informed me that her church congregation is in the process of designing a new church. At the moment there is a design proposal that has been prepared; however, she isn’t pleased with it. Therefore, she has asked if I could offer a design proposal for her congregation.

I have not seen the design proposal prepared by the architect that the church congregation is contemplating on engaging. However, I am confident that the church design that was proposed is your typical run of the mill church design. Perhaps it has a steep gabled roof, the main entrance at one end and the pulpit at the other. And let’s not forget the huge cross behind the pulpit. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not poking fun at what most people, including architects may picture in their heads when the word church is uttered.

Does a church have to look like a church? Does a church have to be rectangular in plan? Does an emblem of a cross have to be present in the design of a church? Is it necessary that the pulpit be located at the end of a church? Does a church have to have a front and a back?

We may all have seen movies where there is a scene with a church congregation listening to a sermon by a preacher or spiritual leader. The people are places in rows all facing the preacher. There are pews that look and are very uncomfortable to sit on for long periods of time. Most people can not see the preacher due to the obstruction of heads of people in the rows in front of them. There is nothing “wrong” with this visual description; however, I challenge us to have a different perspective of what a church is, and not what it should be.

The design of a church, irrespective of one’s religious beliefs, should be directed and guided by both the practical aspects of architecture and the spiritual. Architecture helps to create moods, feelings, states of being. It may even enhance one’s emotional stability or lack there of.

Allow me to give an example of how architecture may enhance one’s emotional stability or lack there of. As a student, has there ever been a time where you dreaded to go to the library to study and/or to do research on a subject matter that really didn’t excite you? A group of your friends got together after class to go to the library. Each step towards the library was a dreadful one. But once you entered through the large doors of the library what did you see and experience? You may have experienced the brightness of the interiors, saw the many rows of book shelves which houses various sized books each having its own design, the many tables and chairs at which students appeared to be studying and having a good time at it. The quietness. The seriousness of study.

Shortly after having found a desk, you pulled out your books. You began to have a different mindset, a different perspective of studying. Why? Perhaps because of the environment that you have subjected yourself to; an environment for learning, a library.

Moreover, the goal of a church, the physical building, is not limited to being a place where the congregation of a church gathers, to protect the congregation from the elements of nature. It’s more than that. Its ultimate goal is to provide a place in which the occupants of the church may have the sense of oneness with God, or their higher being. A place in which one may perhaps feel a sense of peace and security. A place of serenity. A place of bliss.

The architecture of a church may create the essence of the above mentioned feelings or states. In order to achieve that and more, one may find it rather difficult to settle for the typical design of a church as I’ve described at the outset of this article.

As architects, we must throw away the shackles on our brain which hinders creativity. We can not and should not design based upon what the vast majority of people think a particular building type should look like and its functionality. A building type that is a by-product of spirituality as that of a church, it would behove one to experience what it is like to be in a church, to experience the feelings of a church. I am not referring to the spatial perspective only, but inclusive of the spiritual enlightenment was well.

One need not change your beliefs or religion in order to get a feel for what a church is. It only requires an open mind, which will enhance one’s ability to design a church, or any building type for that matter.

Thank you Evette H for giving me the opportunity to present a design proposal for a church for your congregation in The United States. Those who may be interested in utilizing my services as an architect and would like to know more about me, please contact me directly at the following email address: nathanielrhine@gmail.com.

You are most welcomed to share this article with your friends. If you have comments that you would like to share with me, please feel free to do so. Have a great day ahead and thank you for your support and for reading this article.

Please note that all photographs in this article are not my own. They are from Google.