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Holy Cross Parish was in need of a stair enclosure to cover the exterior entrance to their small narthex, which was very typical of a church built in the early 1900's, and handicap accessibility to the lower level social hall. What they weren't aware was that they needed a "gathering space" where the congregation could gather before and after mass for fellowship and ministries. What a wonderful place it would be for funeral wakes, wedding reception lines, and the beginning of ceremonial processions. A carport / exterior gathering space was added for protection from weather.
The church building, being on the National Register of Historic Places, is a wonderful example of Romanesque late gothic revival architecture. Our task was to create, as much as possible, an addition that replicated the architecture yet provided the modern conveniences needed. The stone detail pieces from the existing front doors were reused and relocated to the new north entrance. It is always our goal with addition and renovation work to challenge ourselves to design a project that is difficult to tell where the old stops and the new begins.
Another challenge at Holy Cross was site restraints. A variance was required to build out to the property line on the front street, and a vision corner further restricted space on the side street. The addition that was built maximized site utilization.
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