Introduction

More and more, visitors to a house of worship pay close attention to its physical facilities—the nursery, the adequacy of parking, the number of restrooms—before deciding to make a home there. Fast-growing faith communities have to expand such facilities quickly to accommodate their growth. And nearly all houses of worship face the same challenge in their physical plant: the need for maximum functionality at minimum cost.

For over 12 years, Bovenzi has created both new buildings and renovations for dozens of faith communities. In most cases, the results have not only met space requirements, but added a sense of beauty that enhanced the community’s friendly aura and worship experience. We invite you to take a look at some of this work:

Hoosic Valley Community Church

Rising membership and changing needs required this church to add new space—and renovate the old—yet the sloping site presented a challenge. Bovenzi worked with the site, the church’s needs, and the limited budget to develop an ADA-compliant structure, 11,000 square feet in all. The renovated building featured new worship and classroom space, a fellowship hall, and a modern commercial kitchen.

Burnt Hills Church

Even at its ground level, Burnt Hills Church towers above the street, raising issues of public image and accessibility. A concrete retaining wall solved erosion issues but hardly made the church look more inviting. For that, church officials turned to Bovenzi.

In response, we developed a look that, both visually and physically, diminished the height difference. A series of terraced walls in front, complete with plantings, replaced the old retaining wall and made the church appear closer to the town. A new walkway from street level improved accessibility. All was designed to fit in, not only with the look of the surrounding community, but also with the church’s budget.

Community Alliance Church

This thriving church community was more than ready for a new building—but only had a limited budget for construction. Working within that budget, Bovenzi created an optimally functional structure of 10,000 square feet, complete with a sanctuary, classrooms, a fellowship hall, and a commercial kitchen.