'The Building: Problem or Solution?' Awards New Thoughts on Religious Architecture

Three winners and three honorable mentions have recently been announced for the international ideas competition The Building: Problem or Solution?, sponsored by Faith in Place, a Chicago nonprofit organization. The primary mission of the contest is the development of an array of ideas that will assist congregations in the future when they contemplate significant remodeling or new building programs, hoping to create buildings that are active and full of life at all times of the week, that use their spaces well and serve their communities well.

Submissions were received from 26 architecture practices, coming from 11 states and six countries. There were three first-place winners in the categories Multi-Use Building, Freestanding Religious Structure, and Multi-Congregation Design.

Best Freestanding Religious Structure: Green Mosque
Onat Oktem, Ziya Imren, Zeynep Oktem, Uri Tzarnotzky, Pasadena, CA

Concept brief: incorporating traditional architectural elements in a modern urban context, featuring several sustainable element.

Best Multi-Congregation Design: A House of Worship
Tim Bacheller, student at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago

Concept brief: combining worship space and residential units in a single urban setting.

Best Multi-Use Building: Big Box Revival
Jennifer Lee Michaliszyn, principal, Armature, Boston; Patty Heyda, principal, pH1 design studio, St. Louis; Sarah Burnett, Master of Urban Design, 2010, Washington University, St. Louis

Concept brief: reinventing an abandoned suburban big-box store as worship space, community market, recreational facility and more.

 

Following are the three honorable mentions: