Life is filled with special moments, happening all around us and sometimes the place where these moments happen is an important part of what makes them special. Whether we are celebrating the birth of a child or affirming our faith, providing a memorable backdrop for life’s milestones is an important part of what makes a well-designed space successful. When the Northside Church in Clovis, California, decided to reinvent the plaza space in front of the church as a dynamic new baptismal center their primary goal was to create a place where people feel welcome and connected.
EXPANSION TO CONNECT
“In the early conversations about the baptismal plaza, the church’s goal was to provide a place for people to connect to their faith and one another,” says Terry Broussard, principal with Broussard Associates, who led design services for the new amenity, which opened in September 2016. Broussard believes that effective landscape architecture positively impacts the way people live, work, play, and pray by mixing architecture, horticulture, engineering, and art into a single practice.
“The church was committed to the idea of creating a space that invited others in, those who might not be attracted to traditional churches.” To expand the range of interest, the church decided to amenitize the plaza with a new handcrafted coffee shop, called the Frappe House, to accompany the baptismal pool and amphitheater seating. The design required the plaza to connect the church’s primary entrance, the existing youth center next door, and the coffee shop while also meeting the original baptismal objectives in a harmonious space.
“This plaza really has a lot of interesting programming possibilities beyond the baptismal space,” says Broussard. The design blends a lot of forms and walls, rock work, and fire pits, along with both integrated and moveable seating choices. Roll-up garage doors and roughhewn raw materials are used in the Frappe House. “The whole space has a more progressive, culturally relevant feel than a traditional church courtyard would.”
MAXIMIZING THE SPACE
The challenge Broussard found was in working to accommodate a diverse program of possible uses and group sizes all fitting into a relatively small volume of space tucked between three structures with independent functions that still maintain a central focus on the pool. Creating the connections between the three facilities harmoniously while having a modern, socially contemporary design aesthetic led to the continual use of curvilinear patters that spiral out from the baptismal pool in the center of the design. Radiating outward, the patterns form seating areas, viewing sections, and gathering spaces as the plaza steps up from the pool toward each building. The use of curves in the design allows the energy of each space to be focused on either the main building it serves or conversely all toward the center during baptisms. The key to tying it all together, Broussard shares was in the primary material choice—decorative concrete.
Creating the connections between the three facilities harmoniously while having a modern, socially contemporary design aesthetic led to the continual use of curvilinear patters that spiral out from the baptismal pool in the center of the design using decorative concrete.
“Decorative concrete is wonderfully flexible in terms of being able to create virtually any combination of color and texture imaginable at a reasonable cost,” continues Broussard. “Here we used Bomanite products, which are a very viable solution for public spaces where design matters and ordinary broom finished concrete isn’t going to feel special.”
DECORATIVE CONCRETE
Broussard took the clients to see several different decorative concrete projects and then introduced them to Heritage Bomanite, which serves central California from its Fresno office. Heritage Bomanite has been on the vanguard of the specialty concrete movement since they became the third Bomanite Licensed Contractor in 1973. Owner Sergio Ilic appreciates the opportunity to work with clients like the Northside Church to fine-tune the product selection process with a visit to his showroom.
“Having clients come in, see, and feel the different products and understand all of the variables are essential to ensuring satisfaction,” says Ilic. The final scope of work included 41,000 square feet of flat work, 650 lineal feet of walls, and some 4,000 square feet of polished concrete in the Frappe House. “They ended up using a combination of the Refined Antico finish in Bomanite Light Brown, and three integral colors all with Bomanite Sandscape finish to get the cohesive yet varied look they wanted to connect the spaces.”
IT IS FINISHED
Though Ilic admits that Heritage Bomanite isn’t likely to be the cheapest option on any specialty project, his clients understand that Bomanite’s inherent quality comes from a combination of Bomanite’s product integrity and the craftsmanship his team employs to complete the work.
“Bomanite products are being installed by independent Licensed Contractors all over the United States,” says Ilic. The team at Heritage Bomanite regularly attends Bomanite training session where they share experiences and technical knowledge with other crews from around the country. In part, it is the comradery among the Bomanite Licensees that helps set such a high standard for Bomanite as a versatile solution for decorative hardscapes. Ilic suggests that it’s in the variety of products from a single, reputable source that make the difference in the finished work.
“The Northside Church is a great example of what can be done to make an ordinary extraordinary—really, it’s about helping designers create a sense of place.” ■
About The Author: Sean O’Keefe writes Built Environment stories for Bomanite (www.bomanite.com) and others in the design and construction industry. He provides marketing and public relations services to designers, builders, and commercial product manufacturers and can be reached at sean@sokpr.com.
_________________________________________________________________________
Modern Contractor Solutions, May 2017
Did you enjoy this article?
Subscribe to the FREE Digital Edition of Modern Contractor Solutions magazine.
A Sense of Place
