How Did We Get to This Point in the Redecoration Design Process?

The Design Studio sessions have been very valuable. Thank you for taking the time to attend and to provide your suggestions. One question that has been asked in many of the sessions is “How did we get to this point in the redecoration process, and who has been involved?” I guess we have been so deep into the process that we forgot to provide information about the genesis of this project. Here is a high-level chronology.

1. After one of the contractor status meetings toward the end of the HVAC work, Dennis Kelly (Catholic Construction Services), Rob Berling, Deacon Mike, John Spalding and I began to talk about the need to start to plan for the “paint” part of Save the Spires. (Save the Spires anticipated the flat painting in the Nave but not the artistic painting in the Nave/Sanctuary.) Deacon Mike and I suggested we consider including the artistic painting in the church since that was peeling in spots and needed attention too. Dennis, John, and Rob agreed. (All knew this scope of work was going to be a more expensive undertaking than just painting the white walls of the Nave.) We left the meeting, all saying they would think about the scope of work and how to decide on the first next steps. Dennis said he would take the lead and that he would identify firms for us to speak with to get ideas. This meeting happened about March/April 2021. In a later email, I described the following to Dennis.

“The architectural details in our church are many, but currently not highlighted by the use of varied colors and appropriate lighting. Our goal is to accent the beautiful features of this space with more color and then highlight that color, and better illuminate the entire space, through the use of new lighting. Imagine a setting, let’s say for a special evening occasion, where just the ceiling is softly aglow from above, creating a warm appealing effect on the congregants below.”

2. Dennis got back to us. He said we might want to have an interior master plan draft prepared that looked at the interior as a whole and provided for enhancements that could be staged over time. He said this plan would be a guide to ensure future improvements were thematically consistent and would ensure the interior did not look like a patch work of change. He said he was currently working with an architect (McCreary Architects –www.mccreryarchitects.com ) located in DC on a project and that the firm might be good for this type of master plan project. And the firm would be able to see a larger/longer project to completion over time. He also said he knew of another very qualified firm (Rambusch Lighting, Co. rambusch.com) that is good with this type of work that was in New Jersey, and they specialize in lighting. He said he had worked with this firm before and was pleased with their work.

3. At this point, we decided we needed some “deeper” talent in our group. We identified Adrienne Froemelt. She and her husband met at Sacred Heart and have been parishioners for about 10 years. Deacon Mike married them. They have three small kids and are 30 somethings. Adreinne is a graduate of GA Tech with two degrees. One is a BA Architecture (summa cum laude), and the other is a Master’s Architecture. She has been working in commercial architecture firms for the past 12 years. Adrienne is our architect.

Next, we needed a group member that understood art in buildings and had some experience with historic preservation. John suggested his wife, Mildred. She has a strong interest in historic preservation (Fox Theater), a degree in Art History, and she has served on the Advisory Board of the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Currently, she is serving on the Advisory Board of the Willson Center for Humanities & Arts. Mildred is our art advisor.

4. We spoke with four architectural firms. We were not convinced this was the way we needed to go. Edwin Rambush introduced us to two design firms that specialize in church work and Catholic churches. These firms were Conrad Schmitt Studios (conradschmitt.com) and Evergreene (evergreene.com/services/design). We spent time with both firms and preferred Conrad Schmitt. Dennis thought the design/build approach with one firm was better than going with an architectural firm. This recommendation was based in the fact that no structural work was being contemplated. So, the value add of an architect over a design firm was negligible if any. And the architect would add another layer of cost.

5. We met with Edwin and Martin Rambusch. They listened and prepared an initial draft of a proposed lighting plan. The plan achieved the effect Fr John was imagining. Rambusch also assisted with design ideas for Sanctuary liturgical pieces. This is another specialty area for the company.

6. So, Rambusch and Conrad Schmitt representatives rounded out the team that was going to put together a first draft of an interior master plan. As we went through the process the greatest amount of time was spent on the overall design. And, during the process we met with various contractors attempting to select those that we felt might work best together and for us. We asked all to provided cost estimates so we could have a sense of what the master plan draft might take to execute. Dennis Kelly has been with us the whole time, recommending contractors, attending meetings, and reviewing estimates. Copies of the contractor estimates are available in the Design Studio.

7. The interior master plan draft has been through a liturgical review and a financial review at the Archdiocese. It was necessary to get these reviews completed to know we had a draft internal master plan that the Archdiocese would support.

8. Once the interior master plan draft had the necessary approvals and enough design texture that we could talk about it with some specificity, the plan draft was ready to share with the community to obtain suggestions. To do this most effectively we went to the Design Studio concept so that we could talk with smaller groups and capture any specific suggestion(s) each person might have and to provide a space where each person has a voice. We will evolve this approach as we go.

This is also the point in the interior master plan draft process where we are parsing out pieces of the plan draft and asking for assistance from specific members of the community in areas where they have deeper expertise. For example, we have tentatively identified an Audio/Visual contractor and have his suggestion and estimate of what components the sound and video systems might be made up of and what the systems might cost to achieve the desired result in the Nave/Sanctuary and Livestream. John Prevost (Hearts on Fire), Rene Olivera (Hispanic Singing Group), Mike Wazlavek (former Video Editor/Producer at CNN), and James Brown (lector/musician) will take a deeper dive into the sound and visual components of the master plan draft with Sound Enterprises (http://sound-enterprises.com), the contractor identified. They will meet with representatives of Sound Enterprises, evaluate the proposed systems, and provide their feedback and suggestions.