Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Part of our renovation project includes a new design for the plaza area outside of the main entrance to the church.
Over the years, the concrete on the plaza had become badly damaged and was repatched several times in various locations. The patches themselves had also begun to deteriorate.
Because the renovation project required cutting into two of the dark brick planters to make room for heavy equipment, we knew we would need to address the plaza as part of the overall renovation project.
In working with our architect, the renovation team, and the parish facilities team, we identified several goals for the design of a new plaza:
1. Prioritizing the Safety of Parishioners
The design needed to prioritize the safety of our parishioners, taking into account our busy parking lot and the flow of traffic that passes directly in front of the plaza before and after each Mass. Some form of concrete planters or protective bollards would be needed to prevent vehicles from driving up onto the plaza area, while still allowing parishioners to move in and out of the plaza easily.
2. Making it attractive, not just functional.
We wanted a design that would soften the harshness of our large blacktop parking lot, both in its physical design and in the plantings, flowers, and greenery that could be incorporated.
3. Creating a more inviting space for parishioners to gather and socialize in the plaza area.
The old dark brick planters provided a great measure of safety for parishioners in the plaza, due to their size, but did not allow much space for gathering and greeting one another. Additionally, the old planters were not designed to provide bench space for seating. We wanted to take all of this into account in the design of the new plaza area.
4. Orienting the plaza toward the primary doors into the church, including a statue as a landmark to help identify the main entrance into our church.
Among the three sets of doors that lead into the Gathering Space, it is the left-most door that lines up with the main entrance doors into the church itself and with the steeple over the center of the church. We wanted a design that could help identify the main entrance into the church and include a pedestal planter with room for a statue that would greet parishioners at the main entrance.
The Design
Below, you can see the architect's conceptual rendering of the new plaza area. A few things to note include:
- The planters are located near the edge where the parking lot meets the plaza. The location provides safety for parishioners from vehicles, while also allowing us to reduce the size of the planter, creating more room for parishioners to gather in the plaza itself. The planters feature raised caps that serve as bench seating. (Note: the architect's rendering shows fully mature trees that will not be in place when the plaza opens.)
- Two new curved benches anchor the plaza on the far left and right, making the area more inviting for fellowship and gathering.
- Concrete pavers will be used for the plaza, in place of poured concrete. Two different colors of pavers will be used to visually break up the space. The different colors will be used to create three crosses in the paver area, visually linking the plaza to the sacredness of the church itself.
As you saw last weekend at Mass, the work has begun on the new plaza. While it may not be fully complete by our dedication on August 20, it should be far enough along to serve as our entrance into the church. Please keep praying!
Sincerely in Christ,
