Adding to a Historic Church Campus
St. David’s Episcopal Church occupies a magnificent, 35-acre wooded site in suburban Wayne, PA. The original stone church, built in 1715, sits within a historic cemetery on the lower portion of the site. The upper part of the site consists of four structures built between 1925 and 1975. The older structures are characterized by the use of local fieldstone, large, clear glass windows, simple white painted trim and moldings, cedar roofs, and copper gutters and downspouts.
Our office designed a new 700-seat sanctuary to accommodate the growing parish and a new pipe organ designed and built by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders. The project also included the renovation of the existing Chapel to accommodate a Fellowship Hall, and the addition of classroom and administrative spaces.
Significant design challenges included the need to locate a large addition to the site without overwhelming the existing buildings, to provide additional parking, and to meet strict township requirements for stormwater management. Our design, which orients the new sanctuary 90 degrees to the existing Chapel, creates a new courtyard garden and allows for parking to occupy the remainder of the site. The additions are constructed with materials and details that maintain the straightforward vernacular of the existing historic buildings and that unify the entire complex.
Project Team
Structural Engineer: Keast & Hood; MEP Engineer: E&M Engineering; Civil Engineer: Cahill Associates; Construction Manager: WS Cumby; Photography: Tom Crane
"We still love our building and the magnificent job you all did." The Rev. W. Frank Allen, Rector
