I have often thought about the question, “What makes something Sacred?”  As one matures through a career as a design professional or any other trade, one’s skills, processes and techniques get honed and refined.  You become much better at what you do through your practice.  Your work is heightened to a fine craft and a professional level.  But, “What makes something Sacred?  What makes something inspirational?  What makes something stir the spirit within?”

Let me begin by describing the Artesanos Don Bosco.  They are a group of Missionaries whose purpose is to “preserve the livelihood of the skilled individuals who craft these masterworks of art.”  They do this though the creation of beautiful liturgical art pieces.  They train the poor local people of the Peruvian Andes in woodworking, stone carving, metal fabrication and glass making; providing them with a skill set to support their families.  All of the proceeds from their work are reinvested into their apprenticeship and charity programs.  The leadership of this organization is deeply spiritual, following the path of the 19th century missionary Saint John Bosco whose mission was to educate and better the lives of disadvantaged youth.  http://sacred.artesanosdonbosco.com/

The collaboration in the design process on Our Lady of Mount Carmel was a rich and fulfilling experience.  Our firm, with me as the Project Architect for the new Sanctuary, Deacon Holgren as the Parish’s voice, Mark Heying and Mike Bonetto with Anthem Sacred Furnishings, and Mirko Codenotti, the lead artist for Artesanos Don Bosco, would all lend our particular skills, vision and voice to the refinement of the artwork.  The process that unfolded led to solutions that were not personal but collective, deeply spiritual and tailored to the Parish family.  Ideas would build, be tested and refined.  There was a melding of design, liturgy, tectonics and material that was inspirational and moving.  There were many multi-day sessions where we immersed ourselves in the design of the liturgical art pieces.  As I look back at these sessions, they were at the same time invigorating and exhausting.  There was an unseen energy in the room that drove our team, guided our hands, and moved our hearts to create the pieces that will transform this Sanctuary into a Spiritual Space. Members of the team have spoken about those sessions and all share the common thought that the Holy Spirit was with us on those days to help us to do His works.

Through the process of working collaboratively with Artesanos Don Bosco and Deacon Robert Holgren on the new Sanctuary for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, I believe we all discovered that the difference between craftsmanship and art is the divine touch of God; inspiration delivered by the Holy Spirit.  We were blessed to experience and share this Divine touch.  We believe it has manifested itself in the art and detail of this new Worship space for Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  We all believe and trust that those who see the art and the space will be stirred, inspired,  and experience the Sacred.

The following images show the creation of these beautiful pieces, crafted with loving hands and inspired by Divine Intervention.

David Pfeifer, Principal

domusstudio architecture

The Finished Space, ready for Worship

The Artisans with the Completed Reredos Panels

Adding Gold Leaf to the Reredos Panels

Adding Color and Detail to the Reredos Panels

Carving Detail into the Reredos Panels

One of the Artisans Carving the Rerdos Panels

Preparing the Corpus for the Trip from the Andes to San Diego

Detailing and Finishing the Corpus

Carving and Shaping of the Corpus

The Beginning of the Corpus – Laminating and Seasoning of the Linden Wood

Completed Reredos with Altar and Ambo

View of Reredos with Baptismal Font in Foreground

Conceptual Rendering of Reredos

domusstudio architecture has completed a new master plan design for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Dana Point. Plans call for a new sanctuary, preschool, administrative offices and gym/fellowship hall along with exterior social gathering places at the existing property located at 33501 Stonehill Drive.

The new complex will re-purpose the church’s first building that was dedicated in 1966, which will be renovated into meeting rooms.  Space below the old sanctuary will be remodeled for a choir room and a youth room while the prior fellowship hall built in 1984 will be replaced.

“With direction from the building committee, we created a contemporary-style open campus concept that will equip Gloria Dei with a new ministry space to reach future generations,” said Domusstudio Senior Associate, David Keitel.

With a central plaza and courtyard accented by a water feature, outdoor seating and landscaped areas, the church will now have space for congregating outdoors to encourage social ministries.

According to Keitel, new features such as doors at the rear of the sanctuary that open to an expansive deck, will literally break down the barriers of a traditional church. The design utilizes wood and glass to accent the concrete exteriors along with changes in floor elevations to naturally blend with the sloped site.

The new buildings have also been designed to form a “Cross” element using the architecture rather than applying something to it. The symbol will make the church recognizable as a place for worship and education in the community.

While the modern design has been called “too modern” by some church members, Pastor Mattson said he believes it will help the church with its purpose.

“It gets back to that question: Is it about you and me? Or about your children? Grandchildren? The unchurched, dechurched?,” he wrote in a church newsletter. “I grew up praying at Bethlehem Lutheran Church with a huge steeple and bells and a sad picture of Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane over the altar. I would love that too, although it might not reach positively young people in our beach community.”

The new design is anticipated to be complete in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of the church.

Domusstudio Architecture has been recognized nationally for its designs of sacred facilities by the Interfaith Forum on Religions; AIA’s Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, which awarded it a Millennium Award, and by the Commercial Builders Council.

Dear Gloria Dei family,

Don’t laugh, but I was elected President of the Dana Running Foundation – that’s the parents’ organization that provides financial, logistical, practical support to the running programs at Dana Hills High School.  It’s a lot of volunteer hours, monthly meetings, etc.  So the basic question: Why are you doing this?  One reason, I love my son Anders.  I want him to have the most amazing experience possible. You parent volunteers know what I’m talking about…

I’m also aware—having led a non-profit (church) for over 25 years—the truism, 20% percent of your people will do 80% of the work, etc.  I was not elected because of my skills or expertise, but because of one simple fact: I was the only one running for the position.  Yes, I was elected by a landslide!  Does it scare me that no one else was willing to run? Maybe they know something I don’t? Yes, I’m sure they’re smarter than me and yes, I’m nervous, worried about the time, but again I’m doing this for my son.

As president, I have one goal, a very lofty goal, to get 21% of the parents involved.  Why?  Because it’s for their children too!

So now let me talk about Gloria Dei.  Is the participation level at Gloria Dei different than DRF? Yes and no. My one goal for the Building Campaign—“The Bridge of Grace” is to get more people involved.  Why? Because it’s about the children.

As I see it, there are only three reasons not to participate: You are homeless, unemployed, or are worried about feeding your family. We do have members in every one of those situations. If that is you, there are other ways to participate.

Someone said to me, “But Pastor, It’s too modern.” I’m sorry.  I absolutely love it. Some people like vanilla ice cream and some chocolate. I think it will actually help us immensely with our purpose.  So it gets back to that question: Is it about you and me? Or about your children? Grandchildren? The un-churched, de-churched? I grew up at Bethlehem Lutheran Church with a huge steeple and bells and a sad picture of Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane over the altar. I would love that too, although it might not reach positively young people in our beach community.

Speaking of my son Anders, true story: As soon as he saw the design after school one day, he said, “Is that our church? Wow! That’s amazing. Really, that’s our church? You’re not kidding are you? I love it!” 

That was his first response. His second response came the next day.  A friend of his was hanging out at our house after school and Anders said, “Hey Dad, do you still have your laptop here, I want to show… a picture of our new church?” Guess what his friend’s response was – “Wow! That’s amazing.”

If you haven’t turned in your pledge card yet, I invite you to do so. Be one of the 21, 22, 23… 100 percent? When it’s all done, you might be kneeling in the new church with my son, or another new teenager.  You can stop praying for a second, smile and think, ‘Wow!’  Which is just another way of saying, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

See you Sunday,

Pastor David

Originally written by domusstudio architecture for Worship Facilities Magazine. Read original article by clicking here.

When you come right down to it, building a new church or remodeling one comes down to building for the next generation, says Lew Dominy, founder of San Diego’s Domusstudio Architecture.

And often the process sparks a lot of resistance to change, especially among older parishioners who are set in their ways.

“The problem is, while they are happy, the church is not reaching or appealing to the younger generation so it is our job to help them overcome their attachment to what they know,” Dominy says. Often, he adds, he has to pull the “old guy” card and tell them, “I can say this because I have gray hair…. You have enjoyed the facilities that someone else built for you.”

The process of promoting change often puts architects in the position of sales people, especially when they hold meetings and a parishioner asks, “Why do we need to do anything, anyway?”

That is when Domusstudio’s team turns to consensus strategies that aim to increase interaction and support among parishioners to help the architects come up with a design that is both beautiful and functional, as well as timeless and unique.

“We want them to understand that our designs, buildings and exterior courtyards—which are at the center of all of our projects—are tools for their ministries,” says David Keitel, senior associate with Domusstudio. “If designed correctly, a church can help foster a meaningful worship experience where there is a sense of community; exchange with others. It becomes a place where people can hear, see and connect.”

But those connections only occur when the environment fosters interaction, what Keitel refers to as the “chance encounter,” where two people or families meet, stop and chat about how they are doing. That’s where the courtyard element comes into play.

“So many churches have doors to the streets or two ways out of the sanctuary so when services end, the people are gone—out the door to their cars,” he says. “And if someone sits across the sanctuary, they may never cross paths again.”

To help churches realize their design potential, Domusstudio facilitates conversation and interaction about change using a series of workshops that its team organizes. These workshops involve the entire church community and engage the naysayer’s in the process, educating them and most often converting them once they see other’s viewpoints. Various workshops are tailored to individual churches and their projects, and often include written questions about parishioners’ perceptions about the site. For example, is it friendly or isolated?

“In one workshop, we show parishioners various images to rate,” says Wayne Holtan, a principal at Domusstudio. “We want to know if they like them or dislike them and whether they think they are appropriate for the facility.” Often those images are not necessarily of churches, but photos of elements like landscaping, different styles of architecture and even colors, he adds. “They may think they don’t like contemporary architecture, but may strongly rate photos that show contemporary work.”

From here, parishioners break down into small groups, are given a site plan with scaled program cutouts, and get to play architect. The small groups present their “design” and rationale to the other groups, resulting in an immediate, community-wide understanding of the challenges the project faces. “We want them to place things where they think they should go— parking, small meeting rooms, the kitchen,” Holtan says. “Surprisingly, there is most often a general consensus about the placement of buildings or building components. Also at the workshops, a variety of ideas come forward, and feedback is positive. People want to be engaged and want to have their voices heard.

The process gets those resisting the change engaged and more comfortable, and sometimes even excited, building consensus as they move forward. It also helps them relate to the technical issues of the project, such as parking and zoning requirements.

“Not only do the workshops help overcome aversion to change, they also help those working on the capital campaign because people take ownership,” adds Holtan. “Involving the congregation is definitely a catalyst for change.”