Proposed ideas as of 3/20 - God's light, beautiful and honest craftsmanship, calm

1.  Foyer  -  light and welcoming

a.     Same floor as sanctuary – carpet and tile

b.     Recessed ceiling light 

2.      Sanctuary floor

a.     First choice:  White Granite Luxury Vinyl Tile with 6mm audio absorption backing.  And carpet (or carpet runner)on the center aisle that picks up color from the window (red would be “aha”) - 

Burgandy color carpet runners are available online.   

b.     Second choice:  Carpet tile with colors that pick up the windows

Notes: 

·       Suggest that same flooring be used throughout the 2nd floor of the church

·       Linoleum is >90% natural, compostable;  looking for a quality marble linoleum.  Sound dampening layer would go under the linoleum

·       For audio (when Pavarotti comes to town), carpeting is best, vinyl and linoleum are equally 2nd best (with an acoustic underlayment or layer), and wood is the worst. 

·       Hardwood is the worst choice for audio because it reflects sound waves leading to echoes, reverberations, and harshness.  And the HoH hearing aid system is in danger of wood nails hitting the cable. 

3.      Sanctuary  Chancel construction

a.      Remove structure around the Dove Window and gain 3 usable feet, flexibility in the space and the needed 5’ x 5’ area at the top of the ramp

b.     Lower the entire area to the lower height

c.      Include a movable small wall as before as a “modesty” panel in front of the piano.  Perhaps a cabinet for Carol Ann to keep music instead of the current way, on a chair

d.     Either keep the lectern and pulpit or just have the lectern which could be on the side or in the middle.  Requests have been to have the preacher not looming over us and to make sure that short preachers are easily seen. 

e.      Add a 15’ ramp starting in the front (left side) and going to the back of the chancel area.  The railing for the ramp can also serve as railing for the 2 steps up the the Chancel.  Remove doorways on ramp side.  Move ramp side outlet to the back.

f.        Create a curved front on the raised floor, 2 or 3 wide-enough-to-sit-on steps follow the curve (see 1st Pres of Asheville)

Notes:

·       Do NOT loose the focal point.  If the Dove light is the only thing would it look simple and clean or empty?

·       More lighting is needed in the chancel (instead of just brighter white)

·       Presbyterian Churches do not have an altar

·       The railing for the ramp could be used by folks walking the steps

·       The railing could also be on left and right sides of the steps

·       Pulpit considerations

4.      Sanctuary  ceiling

a.     First choice:  sand and restain

b.     Second choice:  clean.  Create a “Sistine Chapel workgroup” who would use scaffolding to clean the ceiling

NOTES:  Remove the disco ball

5.      Sanctuary  wainscoting

a.     First choice:  instead of replacing all of the wainscoting, put plaster or drywall in the lower part and use some of the white oak for chair rail where the upper old plaster and lower new plaster or dry wall would meet. 

Notes:

·       Lightens up the room

·       Plaster is the best for sound, it will diffuse sound and ensure even sound distribution throughout the room better than drywall. 

·       Less expensive to replace if flooded again

b.     Second choice: replace the white oak wainscoting

6.      Sanctuary window framing

a.     First choice: Paint the window framing the same color as the walls

b.     Second choice: replace the current casing with a wider oak and sand or clean all the woodwork

c.     Third choice:  clean the window woodwork

Note: if framing art (the windows), we want to make the art look better, not worse and we don’t want to distract the eyes from the art. 

7.      Other Sanctuary woodwork: 

a.     First choice:  sand and re-stain

b.     Second choice:  clean.  Create a “Sistine Chapel workgroup” who would use scaffolding to clean the ceiling

8.      Sanctuary  paint:  Objectives: lighten up the sanctuary and accentuate the windows.  A number of paint colors that pick up from the windows are being considered. 

9.      Pews and chairs

a.     First choice:  have pews in the back and chairs in the front (see 1st Pres of Asheville)

·       Chairs will allow easily making space for wheelchairs

b.     Second choice:  all chairs

Notes:

·       Select beautiful chairs which are sturdy enough to support great weight placed on the back, a handhold on the back shaped like those on a pew, a pocket for the hymnbook and Bible, a small holder for used communion cup.

·       Refinish the pews to lighten them up.   What is Jake finding in his exploration? 

·       Choir chairs should be same as congregation chairs – all comfy

10.                  Other Sanctuary  furniture

a.      Keep pastor’s chair

b.     Keep Communion table in chancel area or on the floor

c.      Do not keep the altar table

d.     Keep the table in the back of the sanctuary

e.      Either keep the lectern and pulpit or just have the lectern which could be on the side or in the middle

f.        Wrap panels of the lectern and pulpit with woven cloth to absorb sound and lighten the appearance

g.      Keep Baptism font

h.     Keep flower stands

i.         Other furniture stored at Howard and Cathy’s?

11.          Sanctuary  lighting

a.      Make all light bulbs the same

b.     More lighting in the chancel so that it more light that is less harsh

c.      Recessed lighting in the foyer

12.          Plants, please

 

Climate resilience

ADA

Honoring our past, rebuilding our future

Music, children, elderly , mobility

 

More work to be done:

·       Find out if it is possible to lower the flooring in the chancel

·       Decide what will be in the TRANSEPC (“arms” of the building) – seating? 

 

·       Try out different paints

·       Try out different the window framing possibilities (washing, painting - use cardboards)

·       Try out washing the ceiling

·       Draw out different pew/chair floor plan drawings

·       Audio

o   Sound booth design

o   Determine the flooring

o   Make sure that the mic locations are flexible so the choir can face the piano or the congregation


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chairs and pews in the sanctuary

Image
  Chairs   from NewHolland ,  48 (includes 20 for the choir) for the sanctuary and 2 double seated for use in the general seating or for the minister and liturgist   Extra bolts of upholstery fabric can be purchased for pews, and the pew-man may be able to buy the fabric himself Will have an open slot in the rear for two books, will not have a kneeler, may have a communion cup holder depending on costs Are sturdy enough to support a person using the back to hold while standing up have small pin connectors when chairs are arranged in a tight row Chairs come in single, double and triple size. Single chairs can be stacked 5 high.  (These pics are a different, less strong, style) Pews that are being refinished: Two 9' Two 10' Six 12' Four pews for the fellowship hall, 12' if possible, otherwise as long as able It costs less to upholster the pews than to make pads (only one layer of fabric needed).  The Pew Man may be able to purchase...
Read more

Blending woods and flooring

 Wood: To create a sense of calmness, it is important to minimize how many different shades of wood that one sees.  We also want a matte finish on the wood so that it looks natural, not shiny.   Wood to be finished: wainscoting pews chairs Painters currently contracted with the Old High School have a sample of a board from our wainscoting that is finished to be like the chairs, but better.   The chair and pew folks can both match the finish to our specifications.    On the floor, samples are in the sanctuary now: A LVT, Luxury Vinyl Tile that looks like wood and is in long pieces, kinda like wide boards, will be installed.     Vinyl will can be installed without nails or screws which could damage the HoH, Hard of Hearing, cables that will be installed under the floor.   A red carpet that can be rolled up will extend from the narthex to the chancel.  The red picks up the red in the stained glass windows
Read more

Flooring

Image
Brighten and lighten our sanctuary.   Our recommendations  for the main flooring and a strip of carpet down the middle aisle: Main flooring White marble Vinyl Luxury Tile by J&J flooring.  Click to enlarge.      Rayon carpet tiles that reflect some color in the windows Carpet on the middle aisle extending into the narthex:  Solid color, high quality material picking up a bright color from the windows like red, blue or green  NOTES: This flooring could be used from the narthex into the kitchen and fellowship hall.   That will give a calmness and easy transition.   Easy to clean. Easy to replace a tile if damaged.  Installers will have special tools to punch holes for bolting down the pews. Audio HoH cable will be placed under the tile (fabric or Vinyl).  The installers will put down a strip of tape, then the cable, then another strip of tape.  The tile will be laid after the HoH cable.   The flo...
Read more