Church of the Holy Spirit

We have worked with the existing forms - adding two small dormers over our new entrances and supporting the 4' overhang with columns to achieve the look and feel of a friendly front porch. We've added windows and used two different widths of clapboards to create a more interesting rhythm.

Holy Spirit Site Plan

The old laundromat has two entrances off Old Post Road and is separated from the Church by a sea of asphalt and a narrow strip of grass. We propose closing both of the laundromat's entrances onto Old Post Road and expanding the Church's entrance to allow for an easier flow of two way traffic. Parking will be behind the Church and in front of the proposed annex. A grassed area, bordered by landscaped walkways, will join the two buildings to create a church campus.

CHS Annex Plan

Church of the Holy Spirit

October 2009

We recently made an informal pre-application presentation of the schematic building and site plans to the Charlestown Planning Commission. The Commissioners were unanimous in expressing their delight with our ideas for the building and our proposed site plan, landscaping, and parking.

Over the last several months we have met repeatedly with the Church of the Holy Spirit Building Committee, Bishop's Committee, and presented our plans to diocesan officials in Providence and to the Holy Spirit congregation. We have looked at the project from many different angles and our proposed plan reflects the thinking of many people.

Prior to beginning the conceptual design work we asked our structural engineer, Ernest George, to look at the existing building and he confirmed that the foundation and structure appear to be sound. We decided to limit our plans to the existing footprint and to use as much of the structure as possible.

Holy Spirit Floor Plan

June 2009

The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit has recently purchased the abandoned laundromat next to the church with the idea of creating a church annex / community center. Located right in the middle of Charlestown's Traditional Village District the project comes with unique challenges. Can the existing public well on the church property also serve the proposed annex? Is the existing septic system adequate? What will the Planning Commission require in terms of site improvements?

Exisiting Laundromat

The Church has retained us to assess what can be done on the site and to work with the church community to create a building program that outlines the essential functions of the proposed building. For example, how many offices are needed and what should the size of the community room be? How will the kitchen be used and how large should it be?

Once we have agreed upon an initial building program we will prepare design alternatives that take into account what can be done on the site and what is realistic given the Church's budget considerations.

The plan to the left is a preliminary floor plan, one of many, that we are using to illustrate what can be done with the existing footprint.