St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church

Together with St. Andrew’s we embarked on a journey exploring “extreme hospitality” and created outdoor and indoor spaces to belong that feels more like home to those who are already there and becomes a place of belonging for many families in the community who don’t yet call it home. Collaboratively, we transformed their campus creating a seven day-a-week destination. They realized that “…a stinging critique of most churches is that most coffee shops feel more welcoming than a church campus”. Reversing this trend is important for reaching the next generation, which has reported that, when it comes to their faith and spirituality, they are looking for a place to “belong”, before they decide they are ready to “believe.” We exposed a buried basement and created a multi-level exciting campus, which reinforces interaction between the old and young, the new and lifelong members. The grade change allowed for an amphitheater and a new central campus water wall. We created a variety of exterior seating nodes for one-on-one conversations and for small group meeting spaces. The entry doors to the Narthex were eliminated and replaced with an operable glass wall system able to open and connect the interior to the exterior spaces, but more importantly, removing the barrier which many find hard to cross. Lastly, a corner indoor-outdoor café serves as the hub of the campus not only on Sundays, but the parents of preschoolers, staff, visitors and students (from the high school across the street) also use it daily, fulfilling the goal of the project.