“On the right track, Feeling heard, Very good start!”

These are impressions participants shared to describe their reaction to a “first look” at the potential design for renovating our church building. We had a great turnout with 130 of us gathered on Saturday morning to hear the architects summarize themes from the first Visioning and to present early sketches of building design. Then we asked questions and provided feedback. Everyone was very engaged!

Major themes the architects heard from February’s Visioning included a larger sanctuary with large chancel and comfortable seating, accessibility in numerous ways, natural light and access to outdoor spaces, green building/sustainability, improved kitchen and bathrooms, more storage, improved acoustics and A/V, and several more. Each theme had a ‘wish list’.

Scott Rodwin explained their task is to “Create a design that represents the optimal balance of UUCB priorities expressed during the visioning session, while simultaneously being aware of the potential project budget, phasing opportunities, and construction disruption.”

First, he presented three basic sketches developed early in getting to know UUCB. Since then, the team has spent more time with us, with our building and the first Visioning event. Their creativity coalesced into one architectural drawing that addressed a significant number of our priorities. This design is still “lines on paper”, very much an early idea which can and likely will be modified. But many of those in attendance were excited to start visualizing the possibilities.  

This architectural drawing is posted at UUCB, in the Sky Room on the Expansion News bulletin board. The Rodwin team will also be sharing their presentation slides.

During the second half of the meeting, we asked both general and practical questions about aspects of the design, to which Scott responded. Participants answered two questions using our cell phones. We submitted a word or two about our initial impressions (quoted at the top of this article). We also rated our satisfaction (on a scale of 1 to 10) with the early ideas and direction – the scores were mostly 7, 8 and 9 – with the majority selecting 9!

Now the Rodwin team will be using our early feedback over the next few weeks to keep refining their early design, “dialing in” on what’s important to our community. They will also identify anticipated costs and potential phases for the renovation. And the teams working on the Expansion Project will continue to provide information and ask for your feedback.  Thank you for being interested and engaged in this process of shaping UUCB’s future!

Comments Welcome!

COMMENTS welcome! If you have further ideas or suggestions for our architects, you can submit them on this Comments form: Send Comments to Rodwin.

This avenue of communication was opened during the first Visioning event and will remain open through this Visioning period. This form goes straight to the architecture team

Also, check out the bulletin board in the Sky Room labeled Expansion News. It’s another way for us to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening.

Click here to see more Expansion News: