"Right now we’re designing an idea, not a building."

It was a very busy week for Building Committee members.  We sat in on 3 different meetings for a total of about 6 hours.

The architect from Barrett Studio requested conceptual input from the Administration/Main Office team, the Education staff and the Ministers.

Some pertinent and interesting comments by the architect:

• Right now, we’re designing an idea, not a building.  We will come back, after the fund raising, with specific questions.  Can we fit what you need into this space?  Give us feedback so that we can say yes, there’s a way to work. 
•  We tend to start small.  It’s easier to grow instead of shrink.  We want to get to the goal where it feels good.  
• What are the priorities?  We’re talking about floor space.  We’re looking at square footage issues.  
• We've walked the property and we see lots of positives:  the garden, the pine trees, the space.
• The asbestos report is great news.  We’re pretty sure that the trusses go all the way across.  The foundation is in good shape.  You’ve got embodied space in this building. 
• A central point draws people to Reception.  Maybe it's also a rest stop, a reading nook, a retail area, a place for folks to wait for a meeting.  It’s the node of activity.  It would be open. Maybe pop open the ceiling, to get lots of light in.  That light would spread throughout.  The monitor of light would draw folks to the Reception area.

Don't miss the Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, September 10th.  

At that time the architects will have had all summer to put our conceptual ideas together to provide us with some preliminary drawings and computer graphics... in 3D!