Fall KSU Project

This fall three architecture studio classes (architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture) are working together to come up with some ideas for our new building site.

One of the professors working on this project was featured on the KSU libraries blog and I thought you might like to find out more about our partners.

Retreat Report

Manhattan Mennonite Church
May 2, 2009
Findings and Recommendations
Compiled by Bill McBride and Julia Fabris McBride


Key findings:

The new church on the three acre site on Tuttle Creek Boulevard should be designed to the highest LEED certification affordable to reflect the congregation’s deep commitment to stewardship of God’s creation.

“carbon neutral, energy efficient, zero run-off, renewable energy, natural light,
natural/local materials, etc.”

The site and buildings should be open, welcoming, and well-used seven days a week.

Architectural style should be clean, clear, simple and functional - reflecting the rural character of the landscape.

“blended into the country inside and out – colors of creation – rock of the Flint Hills” “a real farm feel. . .”

The building(s) should be:
flexible and adaptable to accommodate change gracefully
not “stylish,” but universal and timeless
designed to be built in phases
easy to maintain

The new church and site should be inviting to. . .
Mennonites moving here
People seeking God and Peace
Young families
People from other lands/ cultures
Neighbors

“What do these people need? What will make them feel at home? “Ask them.”

The new church should connect people to the:
history of the site - a farmstead, an Indian hunting ground?
trail system for easy access for pedestrians and bikers
native landscape and wildlife
dramatic 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape

The new church should be a beacon – viewed from afar, yet removed from the noise and traffic of Tuttle Creek Boulevard.

The church should have a clear, welcoming, and safe vehicular (and pedestrian) entrance on Tuttle Creek Boulevard.

“ a view from the road of people gathering rather that just buildings and trees”

The church should be a safe place.
children protected from the traffic of Tuttle Creek Boulevard and parking
a shelter from storms and floods

The church should be accessible, functional and convenient
Plenty of parking near the entrance
A covered drop-off for rainy days
Restrooms on all levels

The church and grounds will be well-used and active seven days a week – a place for. . .

Worship (indoors and outdoors)

Recreation – softball, horseshoes, lawn games, playground

Cooking, eating, and enjoying each other
“outdoor cooking and eating – open shelter, picnic tables, campfire, shade trees.

Gardening as a community
“celebrating the fertility of the earth and local food”
“orchard, possible greenhouse, farm stand, honey bees. . .”
“perhaps a pole barn for tools, storage, barn dances.”

Contemplation
“ nature paths, garden walks, a labyrinth, perhaps a columbarium.”

Living . . . housing for grounds keeper? cabins/campground?
four-plex for church use?

“What residential use meshes with church’s mission?”
“How many units are possible/ desirable?”
“It there potential income to off-set construction costs?
“Should we collaborate with developer?
“Could existing double-wide trailer (5A) be incorporated into plans?”

Nature . . . native vegetation, birds, butterflies, fertile soils

Findings and recommendations regarding the building:

Size – 8,000 to 10,000 square feet

Walk-out basement is desirable for economy of construction, and minimizing the building footprint.

The existing stone house, the only historic structure on the site, may be used as part of the church program. If removed, the stone should be reused and incorporated in the new building.

The existing maintenance, located at the entry to the site, is a useful structure that can be relocated on the site.

Spaces and approximate areas
Foyer 300- 500 square feet
Sanctuary 3,000-3,400
Fellowship Hall 2,000-2,400
Kitchen 500- 800
Pastor’s Office 250- 325
Secretary’s Office 150- 200
Classrooms (8-9) 200- 250 (each)
Restrooms 250- 300 (total)
Quilting Room 200- 250
Library 200- 250
Storage/Mechanical/
Circulation 950- 1,325

Total Building 8,000- 10,000 square feet



Notes on Spaces

Foyer
a welcoming, and accessible gathering space
easy orientation for visitors – clear connection to worship
information/ mail boxes
transition between outdoors and church – natural light
a place to sit for a few people

Sanctuary

Seat approx. 200 people

Strong connection to outside/views/ outdoor worship/ natural light
Gathered seating – whether chairs or pews
Probably multi-use (ie. activities/basketball on weekdays)

Separate (from fellowship space) sanctuary preferred if affordable.

If multi-use – need separation between “liturgical area” and activities to avoid weekly set-up.

“Liturgical area” to be elevated for good site lines and designed for flexible arrangement. Stage possibly extended with movable platforms for service.

Proximity/ connection to Pastor’s office and liturgical storage.

A “cry room” connecting parents of crying children to service without disruption of service.

Acoustical balance between music and spoken word. Possible organ?

Excellent electronics/media/sound system

What churches in the Manhattan area are good models?

Fellowship Hall

Sized to seat 200 people for a meal.

Could include Foyer – “like Edens at Mound Ridge”
Perhaps in basement – walk-out desirable
Adjacent to kitchen with buffet window

Kitchen “a big deal….”

Commercial style, certified?
Direct access to driveway for convenient delivery

Pastor’s Office

Close connection to sanctuary

Secretary’s Office

View of entrance for control of building on weekdays desirable
Close connection to Pastor’s office


Classrooms (8-9 total)

Nursery
Separate, with infant quiet room
Doors with side-lights
Appropriately sized toilet room fixtures

Other classrooms double as small meeting rooms
Library/ small meeting room
Quilting room


Restrooms

Storage/Mechanical/ Circulation

Survey Results

Earlier this year, the Building Task Force took a survey to gather our congregation's opinions on what our new building should be. We asked participants to list three adjectives to describe the spirit of the new church and the way the building should feel. I loved the answers given, so I thought I'd share them here. The numbers after indicate if more than one person mentioned a word.
· Welcoming – 15
· Light – 5 – Well lit with a lot of natural light, open with lots of natural light, light, sunny, sunlit
· Simple, Simplicity-5
· Peaceful, Peace-5
· Open-4
· Inviting-3
· Worshipful-3
· Accessible-3
· Meditative-3
· Open-3
· As green as possible, green-2
· Flexible-2
· Bright-2
· Useful – 2
· Energy-efficient – 2
· Humble-2
· It should not look like a building only rich white people would be comfortable in, so maybe it has circles, or images or symbols from people of the world
· Facilitate the creation of community
· The inside should not be separated from the outside
· The old saw “form follows function” should be followed as closely as possible
· A blank canvas rather than a fixed image
· Not like you’re walking into a machine shed or livestock sale barn
· It should capture the spirit we now experience while worshiping and playing and eating with one another.
· Affordable
· Comfortable flow
· Child welcoming
· Welcoming to everyone
· Safe
· Simple clean lines
· Universal
· Beautiful
· Spacious
· Superior acoustics
· Flexible space
· Awe-inspiring in a simple way
· Joyous
· Natural
· Contentment
· Easy
· A place of refuge and sanctuary
· Aesthetically pleasing
· Warm
· Unity
· Diversity
· Right fit
· Cozy
· Innovative
· Inclusive
· Community
· Acceptance
· Down-to-Earth
· Unique
· Spiritual
· Vibrant
· Utilitarian
· Sustainable Design
· Comfortable
· God Centered

Relocation Retreat Pictures

Ideas

Our discussion at the retreat about wanting God's creation to be reflected in our sanctuary reminded me of these windows we saw when visiting with Kirk's brother in Columbia.

Green Churches

We've been tossing around a ton of ideas about green building lately. I don't know about you, but I find some of the information overwhelming. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Wayne County completed their gold LEED certified building in the fall of 2006. They have a brochure about their building that spells out some of the green aspects. I just wish they had more pictures!

Building Retreat

We had a wonderful time yesterday morning, sharing the possibilities for the new property. There were wonderful ideas shared including outdoor worship and fellowship space, and places for quiet meditation. We'll be getting a full report back from our facilitators and that will be shared with the congregation. If you didn't get to come to the retreat, remember that you can share your hopes, prayers, dreams, and ideas at anytime with the building task force, including Rhonna, Monty, Glady, Ann, Richard, and Aaron.

Selling 1000 Fremont

What follows is a summary of my conversation with Chris Elsey about his company's interest in our property.

• They sent out multiple inquiries, mainly to owners of more "distressed" housing. We received one because our building is zoned favorably

• He asked what our asking price is and I told him that we would be ok with the current appraised value which is $222,510 ($94,500 land; $128,010 building)

• Our property is on the high end of what they can afford, especially because of the extensive demolition that would be involved.

• Ideally they would need multiple lots or one large lot before they could move forward with their plans.

• They are wanting to have something built for the next leasing season beginning August 2009.

Chris' response was lukewarm, at best. He said they'll think about it and let us know if they're interested. I'm guessing that we have less than 50% chance of selling to them because our location is less than ideal in several ways.

• Our lot, being a standard 50x150, isn't really their ideal size and so they would probably need the lot to the west.

• The house to the west is, in my opinion, in very good shape considering many rentals in the neighborhood.

• This same house is bordered on the west by an existing apartment building which is an unlikely candidate for demolition.

• Large demolition costs involved in removing our building

If we really want to sell then we would probably have to drastically lower our asking price because our building will be costly to remove and they are not interested in renovating it into apartments. The last figure I have for what we owe on our new property is $161,079 as of November 4. Since that time we have sent approximately $37,000 more from the CD that matured on November 1. So now we owe about $125,000.

Some questions to ponder....

If Elsey's response was lukewarm, and I'll assume that they have adequate funding, is there any chance another developer will be more interested? Should we sell to Vintage Faith Church at a bargain price and work out a joint-use agreement with them until we are ready to move? What would it take to sell and move in the next year, both monetarily and logistically? What are our immediate needs (and associated expenses) for transitioning to our new property -- connecting to the sewer? making office space? hiring an architect to help with a site plan? ???

My conversation with Chris was fairly short, but contact me if you have any questions.

Anyone can add comments (see below), but contact Rhonna if you would like to contribute posts. Let the conversation continue...

Energy Star Advice

Energy Star has a great web page to help congregations who are trying to become more energy efficient. It's worth a look over.

This picture is of the new library at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

We want to hear your voice! Ever since we began discussing the idea of a new building, I've heard so many ideas for what the possibilities are. Now it's time to make those ideas official. We need to lay those ideas on the table, do the research to see which are viable, and narrow down to the best possibilities. Here are some ideas we've heard:

1. Straw Bale Construction: There are a lot of materials out there on straw bale construction as an energy efficient option. St. Andrews in Olathe built with straw bales and created a beautiful building.

2. KSU Architecture class: There is a professor on campus that is interested in using our building as a class project. This would not obligate us to actually use the designs, but it may give us some ideas.

3. Fuqua Construction is a design-build firm out of Inman, KS. They've built several churches in the area and may be an affordable option.

4. There's a firm recommended by the Mennonite Brethren church that allows the congregation to lower their cost with volunteer labor. I'm working on getting a link for you.

5. No matter how we go, there has been a lot of interest in making our building as green as possible. We're still trying to define exactly what that means. Here are some fun sources to look at to see what's out there.

• The first LEED certified house of worship. LEED certification is a set of guidelines that we could follow to make sure that we are being easy on the environment. There are different levels of certification. Here is some more information about what that means.
• The Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition in the KC area has some good information.

I've heard rumblings of architect friends who are interested in our project. I've heard about the possibility of a Butler building. Let us know what you think about the options you've heard. Look at the links and tell us your opinions on the buildings. What do you like or not like about them? What is your vision for what our church could be?

Please join the task force in continuing prayer, asking for guidance, faith, and vision.

That About Sums it Up

Before I toss a bunch of new ideas at you, here is where we're at right now

1. We are purchasing land at 3001 Tuttle Creek Blvd. We started with a $450,000 mortgage, but were able to lower it to $202,000 with the sale of the Fremont house and some other stuff. Through 2007 we received $11,380 as part of 2Y2L (catchy acronym for 2 years to land). So, according to reliable sources, as of the beginning of 2007, we have only $191,000 to go. Kirk says they've received more commitment statements since the annual meeting so we're coming closer all the time to a new building.

2. The building committee is tossing around some things. I'll give more details when we have them.

That's the boring details. But it doesn't really give the full story. The land is beautiful, with a view overlooking KSU agricultural fields. The congregation gathered there with the property sellers and the current residents to plant a tree. Members of the church are talking together about what this building could be and how it could reflect who we are and what God has planned for us.

What is your vision for the building our congregation will gather in? What do you believe that God has planned for us?

Tree Planting

In The Beginning

Greetings fellow Mennos!
I thought a blog would be a good place to collect information on our church building project. We can use it to keep each other updated, to post articles on the subject, to look at what other churches have done, and to dialogue on our feelings, visions, and hopes. I'm hoping to elaborate on the discussions that are taking place with links to web sites to further explain. Please comment as much as you like. If you would like to contribute, I would be thrilled!!! Just let me know and we'll get you set up. Happy blogging!