David Locicero | architect + Uscanuy Contractors
Started in 2017
2500 square feet
Private Clients
The Problem: The congregation realized that their facilities, located on a spectacular hillside site, were not fulfilling the needs of their expanding outreach programs. They had identified the lack of accessible bathrooms, a small and inadequate kitchen, a lack of class room space for their pre-school, and a lack of storage as significant draw backs to their facilities which were limiting their ability to expand their programs and serve the needs of their congregation and larger community.
The Clients: An active Oakland church, with many programs. The church is located on a spectacular hillside site. The existing mid-century buildings are notable for the quality of the design.
The Solution: Working with Uscanuy Contractors as a design-build partner, we worked with the Church to come up with a design that addressed their needs. The solution included building a separate building to house new accessible toilet rooms. By relocating the toilets out of the community hall building, we were able to expand the kitchen allowing a larger space for congregation potlucks and catering staging for receptions. We looked at ways of expanding the pre-school into other under-utilized spaces. We also developed a new storage structure which would provide both much needed storage as well as act as a sound barrier so that the congregations festivals and weddings would not impact the neighbors as much.
The Results: We have come up with a viable plan, reviewed by the Church, and worked hard to bring the design into alignment with the congregation’s priorities and budget. We prepared a report that the Church can use to raise money to complete the project. The Church will be approaching their national organization for a loan to begin construction as well as initiating a capital improvement fund raising campaign.
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