Lutheran Church of Hope - Johnston Grimes

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Lutheran Church of Hope - Johnston Grimes

A gathering place nestled into the landscape welcomes an expanding church community

Information

Location Grimes, Iowa
Size 21,150 SF
Completion 2018
Services Architecture
Project Type Religious

Lutheran Church of Hope – Grimes is a satellite facility of a large, multi-campus Evangelical Lutheran Church in the heart of Iowa. The 21,150 square-foot building serves as a community and worship center for a fast-growing congregation within an expanding rural community. The building is shaped with two simple volumes. The darker worship form is crafted with a hand-made texture of clay tiles and serves as the vessel where larger worship and education functions reside. The lower single-story white, metal clad-form serves as a support bar to the larger worship form and creates a warm “front porch” with the incorporation of cedar and a cantilevered protective overhang. The cross stands as a third element in the composition marking the entrance and balancing the building composition.

Impact + Innovation

The site is part of a larger planned residential and commercial development focused on walkability and community. The site topography, configuration, and orientation allowed the building to be placed near the center of the site and be oriented toward a regional storm water pond, an informal outdoor worship space, and community vehicular round-a-bout. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow around the southern and western boundaries allowing the building to be viewed from a distance as a humble form nestled into the earth. Worshippers and visitors approach and enter the building from a modest one story “porch” on the east and have views to the site and pond from the interior. Gathering spaces, educational facilities, and a flexible 400-seat worship space enable residents to grow and connect within the life of the church and the surrounding community.