Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Lafayette, CO
Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is confronting a problem similar to many congregations that operate out of aging facilities. For years BVUUF has made the most of a singular gathering space that acts as sanctuary, fellowship hall, performance hall, and banquet hall, with a small kitchen. Undersized administrative and educational spaces make daily operations awkward and limiting, requiring constant reconfiguration. Outdated lighting and mechanical systems are inefficient and can negatively impact the services and classes offered at the Fellowship. In order to sustain this dynamic and diverse congregation, the facility must blossom and grow to celebrate the young and the aging in their spiritual exploration.
To breathe new life into the physical and spiritual church body, the design is anchored by a new 200-seat sanctuary that is dynamic and filled with uplifting daylight. The 36-person choir will be invigorated by a space acoustically tuned to live vocal and acoustic performances. Along with this new sanctuary comes a refreshing of the existing multifunctional space with a new expanded kitchen and inside/outside courtyard connections. The fellowship hall and sanctuary will be dedicated for those uses rather than co-functioning as a multi-purpose hall. A new educational wing, along with renovated administration facilities, will make daily life at BVUUF more efficient, effective and beautiful. With new lively finishes and systems, all ages will be welcomed and activated.
In keeping with the environmental values that are an underpinning of this community, state-of-the-art energy systems, including ground source heat pumps and solar photovoltaics, will make this facility a model of renewable energy that will bring it to near net zero. It is such commitments to the congregation’s values that allow them to walk their talk, and bring form to their hopeful vision of the future.
This comprehensive remodel will also put a new face forward to the neighborhood, an inviting message of an active, contemporary place of celebrating community, and progress toward achieving their goals of social and environmental justice.
