Where Are Your Projects Located?
We have church design projects all over the United States from Fresno, California to Winter Park, Florida, to Christiansburg, Virginia, to Memphis, Tennessee.
Do You Come And Visit The Site?
Yes
Are You A Construction Company?
No, we are a church design firm. We work with contractors that either the church provides or we can provide. We assemble our team of professionals, using the best of each team member's talents. Our firm is devoted to the aesthetics, the whole "look" and layout of the project - inside and out. Once we have our design concept, our architects develop the construction documents and our build team goes to work.
What Does Your Firm Do?
Our scope of work includes programming - helping the church to define exactly what they need and want, concept development - creating the "big idea", schematic design - developing the basic floor plans and architectural design of the project, master planning - the layout of the whole campus including roads, parking and the location of buildings, landscape concepts, and interior design.
What Size Of Church Projects Do You Do?
We design churches that build congregations so we expect churches to grow. We have worked with churches with congregations as small as 300 and as large as 27,000. We are currently developing facades for pre-fabricated buildings that allow smaller churches to get started and larger churches to expand quickly to add fellowship halls, youth centers, Sunday schools, gymnasiums and additional worship spaces.
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What Do You Charge?
We typically work on a fixed fee based on the size of the project and our level of involvement.
Can't We Just Get An Architect To Do The Whole Project?
Architects sometimes take on the design portion of project - but church campus and church interior design has been our sole focus for the last 20 years. We are experts in creating churches that are warm and inviting and say, "Come on in. We want to love you." It typically doesn't cost any more to have both Darrell Howe & Assoc, and an architect, and we go beyond the architecture to the interiors, lighting and landscape as well.
What's Your "Style" Of Design?
As you can see from the website, our projects are as varied and unique as are churches. Each church's membership, mission, location and vision are different from every other. We take the church's ideas and embellish on them to meet a community's need, not just one individual's taste. Know that "contemporary" doesn't have to mean cold, "traditional" doesn't have to mean outdated, and "southwest" is not necessarily adobe.
If We Just Want To Remodel Or Renovate, Can You Help Us?
Yes. Because we have so much experience in the church design field, we know what is important to spend money on. We can help create a whole new feeling on a limited budget. We care about quality details and can help you choose what is going to make the biggest difference.
Do You Help With Long Range plans?
Yes, absolutely. We can help determine the existing needs of the church and help them to plan to meet long range master planning goals. We often help a church decide if it should remodel, build from scratch, or reconfigure their spaces to be more efficient.
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Do You Have A List Of References?
We have many happy clients that are eager to speak to you personally. Just call or email our office to obtain reference information. Also, take a look at our letters right here on the website.
Do You Work With All Religions And Denominations?
Yes.
What Is The Design Process?
Phase 1: Programming
When we first talk we will ask you a few questions: - How many people do you have in your church? How long has your church been established? What kind of activities does your church host - childcare, Sunday school, youth activities, adult activities, etc.? What kind of facility are you in now? What do you envision for your church in 5-10 years? What is the teaching/preaching style of the pastor? What kind of budget do you have for what you want to accomplish?
We then send you a "wish list" to ask questions about what you may want to have in your new or remodeled facility. This basic"program" helps to give everyone a clear sense of what is needed.
We then ask you to send us any information you have about the property - site plan, existing architectural plans, photographs of the buildings and area, and perhaps a recording or video of a typical service.
We gather all this information and help the church with a long-range master plan, often to be phased over a period of time. This outline is what determines our design fee. We write a proposal for design services to be signed by two representatives of the church.
At the signing of the agreement and receipt of retainer, we begin to hone the program requirements for all the areas of the project including space requirements and adjacencies (Example: a 900 square foot bookstore to be accessible from the lobby and the main street.)
Phase 2: Schematic Design
We then develop concepts and begin plans, elevations, sections and renderings to be used for presentation to the congregation, fundraising, budgeting and city planning. We present one concept at a time which can be accepted, rejected or modified until everyone is satisfied with the design direction.
Phase 3: Design Development
When the church is ready to move forward, our architects go to work to develop the schematics into working drawings. They coordinate with other professionals - lighting, HVAC, engineers and sound consultants.
Phase 4: Construction Documents
This is where all the details are worked out and documented. This phase will result in a complete set of construction documents. From these we get our final budget numbers and work on obtaining city permits. We match the project with our best contractor for the job and prepare to break ground.
During this time we are establishing the interiors with final furniture selection, and landscape concept development.
Phase 5: Construction Phase
All during this construction phase we are in constant communication with the contractor on the job to make sure that the project staying true to the plan. Sometimes ideas develop that are better alternatives to save the church money but still maintain the look we want to achieve. Interior furnishings are purchased and we prepare for final installation.
Since we work as a team, the result is an incredibly cohesive church design that is warm, beautiful, functional and flexible - allowing for undoubted future growth.
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