Blending Old and New
A structural assessment was done on the remains of the original church and it determined that only the stone could remain as a structural component.
“We looked at some alternatives where the church would be demolished in its entirety. We also looked at the possibility of reconstructing the church as it was,” Heitman recalls. “Ultimately, we settled on a hybrid solution that saved the most sacred part of the church and deconstructed other elements in such a way that enabled us to use some of the salvaged wood for furniture and finishes.”
There were several important goals that were front of mind in the design of the new space for the church. One was to be respectful and honor the original church building as much as possible. The congregation also has a focus on sustainability and concern for the environment, so it was important the new building be efficient in its operation and the team repurpose as much of the original structure as possible.
The remaining stone walls from the entrance of the original church live on in the interior of the new church, in a central hallway called Heritage Hall. Nearly 40,000 board feet of lumber was salvaged to use for interior finishes, and recovered stone was reused as part of the construction of the site retaining walls.
Stewards of the Earth
Although partially built with old materials, the new church was designed with a very modern approach to sustainability and energy efficiency.
“This was a congregation that wanted a high-performance building that was conscious of the environment, so we worked with mechanical/plumbing engineers Henderson Engineers to design a high-performance building that would tread lightly on the planet and the Westport neighborhood,” Heitman says.
A commitment to sustainability is evident throughout the church, inside and out. “We have a lighting system in the church that is almost entirely LED,” Heitman explains. “In addition, we used a VRF [variable refrigerant flow] system in the mechanical design, which gives the church the ability to precisely regulate the temperature and humidity in multiple zones throughout the building. This allows the church to reduce energy consumption by only using the system where it is needed.”
The exterior landscape is another important part of the church’s sustainability strategy. “The church is in the oldest part of Kansas City, so it has a very antiquated combined stormwater and sewage system,” Heitman says. “In the Westport area, the city has been encouraging developers to employ sustainable stormwater-management strategies, so we also needed the landscape to be part of the working design of the building. We created rain gardens that are not only beautiful spaces for the church, but also a working part of the stormwater-management system.”
Indoor environmental quality, particularly acoustics, was another extremely important part of the equation in the design of the new church. “The music ministry is very important to the identity of the Westport Presbyterian Church,” Heitman explains. “They hired an organ builder before they hired an architect. We worked with some of the best acousticians in the business to define the acoustic design criteria of the space. The sanctuary space is really designed for the organ in terms of the size and volume and reverberation that would be required in the space. It shaped the room in so many ways.”
Photos: BNIM