Branches
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South Florida United Methodist Church Renovation BRANCHES, North Miami, Florida
In a classic example of building reuse and recycling, this abandoned church was renovated into a vibrant facility focused on youth in the community.
The project program included many administrative offices, conference rooms, tutorial and teaching areas, an auditorium, and a redesign of the central courtyard to provide meeting spaces for staff and students who use the facilities.
Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church
Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, Cutler Ridge, Florida
In the late 1970’s, the congregation of Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church in South Miami-Dade County commissioned a design for a Fellowship Hall which would unite the existing disconnected buildings and provide a protected walking environment. The Fellowship Hall, whose primary function is large gatherings, sometimes with dining, also had two stained glass windows salvaged from another fire-destroyed church in downtown Miami.
After Hurricane Andrew, when so much of South Dade County was destroyed, this Fellowship Hall became the distribution center for supplies to the needy. The connecting roof elements provide protected shelter from sun and rain between the Sanctuary, Education Building, Administrative area, and Fellowship Hall.
First United Methodist Church of South Miami
First United Methodist Church of South Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
One of many projects for the First United Methodist Church of South Miami was the installation of a Tiffany stained-glass window, originally created for the Brian Memorial Methodist Church in Coconut Grove, Florida. When Brian Memorial was sold, the owners asked us to remove the window, which we placed in the pediment of the First United Methodist Church of South Miami, above the Narthex or entry to the Sanctuary.
Other projects Chael, Cooper and Associates performed were the addition of a family-sized handicapped restroom with a shower, a new monumental sign with a cast copper sculpture of the Methodist cross and flame, redesign of the Fellowship Hall, and many deferred maintenance projects for all the buildings, including major renovations of the education building, which was being used by the French School for the Fire Department concerns.
Trinity United Methodist Church
Memorial Garden Trinity United Methodist Church, Jensen Beach, Florida
This project involves renovating an existing memorial garden on the south side of the Sanctuary. The brick flooring with the names of those memorialized was laid out in a manner that did not align with the garden's enclosing walls. The space was difficult to use during the late spring and summer months due to the sun and heat.
The renovated garden space reused the memorial brick and added new ones to provide a planting area on the side for dwarf Italian Cypress (two on each side), with the cross centered and a bed of drought-tolerant bromeliads surrounding. Two existing benches were refocused on the cross, and a canvas shade awning was provided to reduce the summer heat.
Hatian United Methodist Church of Dade County
South Dade Haitian United Methodist Church Un-Built Project, Miami, Florida
The Pastor and members of the Haitian United Methodist Church requested a design for a Sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, and Classrooms for their site in South Miami-Dade County.
St. Marks, Vinice, Italy Unbuilt
Student Project - Replacement of St. Mark's Cathedral in the Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy
This student project program assumed that the foundations of the Cathedral of St. Mark's were in a rapidly deteriorating condition and that the cathedral needed to be replaced. We were challenged to use contemporary materials and construction techniques while preserving as many of the existing historical elements as possible, such as the famous four-horse statue on the roof.
Vertical Church-Palm Bay, FL
VERTICAL CHURCH – Palm Bay, Florida – Un-Built Project
In reviewing the church's written materials, e-mails, and notes from our initial meeting, I was impressed by the mission-driven aspects of thier ministry: providing food, produce, counseling, and activities for underserved people in the area, in addition to promoting the teachings of Christ.
We considered the impacts of site characteristics, such as prevailing breezes, sun patterns, traffic patterns, neighbors, and potential public perception of the complex. We previously sent a site analysis sketch indicating where buildings should be placed on the site to create exposure, build a sense of public space, and use building masses to shield and define interior spaces.