Questions to Ask When Finding a Church Architect
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If you are a minister or a member of a church building committee that is thinking about adding on or building a new church building, choosing the right architect for the job is vital to your project's success.
Just picking a name out of the phone book or going with someone who has name recognition in your town is not going to be the best way to get a church building that meets your needs.
You need an architect who has substantial experience in the church design and building process. Someone who has designed churches before will be able to anticipate potential problems in citing and other regulations you will need to meet, and he or she will also be able to guide you through your planning and visioning process of what you really want and need out of your new church building.
The best way to find the right architect to meet your needs is by conducting a thorough search and interview process, just as if you were hiring a new pastor. Make sure anyone you talk to has references, and follow up with those churches on such issues as:
*How did the architect lead you through discovering what your needs were?
*Did the building you got match the ministry goals you talked about with the architect?
*How did it impact your ministry and community?
*Did it meet your goals in terms in growing the congregation, becoming more of a community building, etc.?
Discovering what other churches thought about the architect and the results they got will be vital for you in determining if a particular architect will meet your needs.
Most churches do not start out the design process knowing exactly what they need or what they should be building in terms of meeting their mission in the community. If you find an architect and hear from other churches that he or she was great at helping guide the church building committee to understand exactly what it wanted and needed before drawing up any designs, and that the building ultimately reflected those needs beautifully, that is the person you want to work with.
Architects should never assume that they know everything about what you want or need or the aesthetic that the church wants to reflect. Taking the time to talk to former clients of any architect you are considering will ensure that you choose an architect who has satisfied church building customers, which hopefully will ensure a better result for your church design project as well.
About the Author
Bruce Anderson is a nationally recognized church design and construction consultant and president of Build-Masters Group LLC, www.build-masters.com. Visit his site, www.brucecanderson.com, for a free report, "The Top 10 Mistakes Pastors Make in Designing and Building Their Church…and How to Avoid Them."
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