From Reinvented Big-Box Stores to Streetscape Cathedrals, Architecture Competition Winners Re-Imagine Religious Buildings
Religious congregations are often saddled with outdated structures designed for an earlier period. Though beautiful and built at great sacrifice, many of these buildings don’t serve the needs of modern congregations and communities. Nor are they the most environmentally friendly. Yet, when congregations decide to build, they often look to these older structures as models.
Faith in Place, a Chicago nonprofit organization that gives religious people the tools to become good stewards of the earth, challenged architects to develop creative solutions to the building problems faced by today’s congregations of all faiths. The competition was generously sponsored by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. “The Building: Problem or Solution?” competition sought entries that would both integrate with the broader community and serve it; have eco-friendly and sustainable features; and be buildable, among other criteria.
"Our goal with the competition has been to develop ideas that will help congregations considering significant remodeling or new construction,” said Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield, executive director of Faith in Place. “Ultimately, we want to see the religious building transformed from a burden to congregations to a vehicle for solving the many problems religious bodies address as part of their missions – from social services to education to civic engagement and more. Enabling these buildings to be used fully every day was key."
Twenty-six architecture firms, representing 11 states and six countries, submitted entries. There were three first-place winners, each receiving $5,000, and three honorable mentions.
View the results:
- Best Multi-Use Building
- Best Freestanding Religious Structure
- Best Multi-Congregation Design
- Honorable Mentions
"This competition begins the process of imagining new spaces that are an asset to congregations and communities, are awe-inspiring and are economically and environmentally sustainable," said the Rev. Dr. David Greenhaw, President, Eden Theological Seminary, and a competition judge. "It provided what I hope is a beginning moment in an ongoing conversation about the next generation of religious space needed for the 21st century and beyond."
Faith in Place gives religious people the tools to become good stewards of the earth. It partners with religious congregations to promote clean energy & sustainable farming. Since 1999, Faith in Place has partnered with over 600 congregations in Illinois—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian, Baha’i and Unitarian. It is also part of the national Interfaith Power & Light campaign.