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PRESTRESSED CONCRETE INSTITUTE

Religious StructuresARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURAL

Published Monthly by thePRESTRESSED CONCRETE INSTITUTE Vol. 12, No. 12Editor: Edward D. Dianne December 1966

Ecclesiastical ArchitectureRecent liturgical changes result in increased activity in church design

The design of religious structures—often termed the most challenging of allassignments for the architect—has become even more interesting with recentecumenical revisions.

Century-old traditions which have governed ecclesiastical architecture are undergoing change, permitting the architectmore freedom of expression. For instance, in the Roman Catholic church,interior design modifications have beennecessitated because of the recent decision to permit the worshiper to takea more active part in the Mass. Thepriest now faces the worshipers as herecites the Mass. In older churches, thealtar simply has been brought forward

to permit this change. In newly designedchurches, however, the break in traditionhas permitted the architect to create the“church-in-the-round,” with the altar inthe center, surrounded by worshipers.

The traditional rectangular or cruciform plan for a place of worship nowincludes such geometric shapes as thecircle, square, trapezoid, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, and the octagon; together with the cube, pyramid, cylinderand the cone, all accompanied by suchstructural engineering devices as thecatenary curve and the hyperbolic paraboloid.

Today, ecclesiastical architecture includes not only the church building

proper, but an entire complex of structures, quite often carried out in onestructural design theme: the church, theschool classrooms building, a gymnasium,an auditorium, a dining hall and a rectory and convent.

New church construction totaled $432million in the first five months of 1966and cost $1.2 billion in all of last year.In the next few years, the U.S. is expected to spend $2 billion to $3 billionalone for liturgical renewal.

This issue of PCITEMS illustrates howprecast and prestressed concrete is enabling architects and engineers to meetthe new challenge.

1. North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix, Ariz., includesthe church building, with a sanctuary seating 2211 persons, andtwo adjoining buildings to accommodate 1506 in Sunday school.Prestressed concrete tees form the second floor and roof of thetwo-story administrative wing, housing offices, classrooms and acombination cafeteria and auditorium. The concrete exteriorwall panels are 38’ high, 13’-7” wide and 6” thick; they weighabout 18 tons each.

2. The chapel is the focal point of architectural interest as wellas the daily center of activity at St. Joseph’s Home for theElderly in Palatine, Ill. The architect states, “The use of precastand prestressed concrete presented no restrictions to a traditionaldesign, which reflects the history and religious nature of theowner,” the Little Sisters of the Poor. Three-story tall precastbearing wall panels support two floors and a roof of prestressedconcrete channels, creating column-free spans and maximumflexibility for future interior alterations. The white concretepanels are set off by stained glass windows. Exposed aggregatepanels are located in the chapel nave.

2 Arch.-Eng.~ Neri and Sit, Inc.; P/C fobricator~ Crest/Schokbeton Cnncrete, Inc.

1 Arch.~ W. A. Lockard, AlA; Eng.: F. J. Miller

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3, 4, 5, 6 and Cover. The architect explains hisselection of materials in the design of Saint John’sEpiscopal Church in West Hempstead, Long Island,N.Y.: “Through the use of precast, prestressed concrete Y-beams, the architect achieved in one act thestructure and the ornamentation. The use of standardbuilding components in an unusual application gavea modern emphasis to- a traditional shape for areligious building. The usual, stone-by-stone methodof construction of a religious building was set aside,and by means of contemporary construction techniques the space was enclosed in three days. TheY-beams formed not only the basic structure butthe interior finish as well. The essential appearanceof the enclosed space emphasized the new meaningof religion to a contemporary society. The naturalplay of light on the forms gave a deeper feeling tothis space. The parish hail adjacent to the sanctuary,using the same structural element in its more usualspanning sequence, created an important contrast tothe unique method of construction in the sanctuary.”

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3 Arch.~ E. W. S~ater; Eng.~ I. J. Speyer; P/C fabricaior~ C. W. Blakeslee & Sons

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7, 8, 9. Prestressed concrete tees wereused in an ingenious manner in SacredHeart Catholic Church in Clovis, N.M.The wedge-shaped Tee-beams were created by blocking standard forms to thedesired shape. They were positioned,fanned out from the high radius pointabove the altar, and a lightweight concrete roof deck was then placed. Thearchitect’s design “takes advantage offlexibility of form and shape permittedby concrete and utilizes the structuraladvantages of prestressed concrete. Thedesign thus provides for ease and simplicity of construction, jointing and installation; total lack of maintenance; fireresistance; unsurpassed durability, andlow initial cost.” The construction contract was $200,000.

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7 Arch.: U. C. Weidner, Jr., MA; Eng.: Kenneth DeLapp & Assoc.; P/c fobricotor: Crowe-Gulde Prestressed Concrete Co.

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10, 11, 12, 13, 14. The program calledfor a new St. Ambrose Roman CatholicChurch in Salt Lake City, with a seatingcapacity of 1000. It was to be built onthe site of the existing church, with twobays of the old structure to be retainedfor much-needed additional room in theadjacent rectory. The encroachment uponthe school playground was to be kept toa minimum.

A fan-shaped plan was devised to meetthose needs; but the design presented aproblem of placing a roof over a spacewith ever-increasing spans from 55’ inthe front of the nave to 88’ at the rear.“Double-tee beams permitted the repetitive use of a standard structural unit forlower cost, and still provided the aesthetically desired column-free nave,” the architect explains. The 88’ double-tee beamsare the largest used to date in a buildingin Utah.

Prestressed double-tees under the sanctuary support the 5000-pound altar stoneand permit a uniform floor thickness.Precast channel slabs form the nave floorand provide a 44’ clear area in the basement social hail. The total building costwas $500,493.

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11 Arch.-Eng.~ Folsom and Hunt; P/C fabricator: Utah Prestressed Concrete Co.

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15 Arch., Christopher P. Kontionis; Eng., Tom Hines; P/c fabricator, Structural concrete corp.

15, 16. At Manchester, N.H., St. George Greek Orthodox Churchis an extensive complex composed of the church building, asocial hall-community center, classrooms for daily and Sundayschool programs, administrative offices, a dining hall, and integrated parking facilities which necessitate pedestrian overhead

walkways. The community center includes an auditorium for750 persons, 12 classrooms serving over 400 pupils, and offices.Prestressed concrete giant tees form the roof of this structureand additional precast and prestressed components are alsoutilized.

17. Beth Israel Synagogue in Malden,Mass., is a two-story building, housingon the ground floor a complete recreational and social center, including aswimming pool, classrooms and generallobby. The second floor contains an assembly hall, a sanctuary seating 200 persons, offices, a library and kitchen. Thestructure is a unique perimeter bearingwall system of channel-shaped precastconcrete units, standing full height. Thesecond floor is formed of prestressed concrete flat slab and double-tee units. Thetapered exterior units feature exposedaggregate surfaces, with the sides showing a running form board finish. “By theuse of precast prestressed concrete wewere able to achieve our design objectives and gain very favorable costs savings and efficiency of construction,” thearchitect states.

18, 19. The Chancery Building of the Roman Catholic Bishopof Manchester, NB., artistically demonstrates the blending ofmodern precast concrete panels with natural stone. The wallunits, of white concrete, measure 9’-3” by 13’-4” and provide

Arch., Koehier and soak. AlA; Eng., J. U. Wiesendoeger; P/C fabricator, Structorol Concrete Corp.

a finished wall both inside and outside. The deep reveals provideshade and offered the architect “an opportunity to use a strongdesign element. In addition, the repetitively cast concrete unitmade possible substantial savings both in time and money.”

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17 Arch..Eng., Lord & Den Hortog; P/C fabricator, Structural Concrete Corp.

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20. A modernistic bell tower is formed bythree individual, sculptured prestressedelements at Sacred Heart Church inProsser, Wash. The graceful 50’ tall components represent the three crosses onCalvary.

21. Against a background of three different crosses, a unique bell tower shapedfrom a double-tee rises 43’ at St. Peter’sEpiscopal church in Milwaukee, Wis. Theprestressed concrete tower was formedfrom a standard 8’ wide double-tee, 24”deep. The white cement structure wassandblasted for further aesthetic efjec&

23. Four precast concrete crosses, each85 ft. tall, form the bell tower at St. Roseof Lima Church in Miami Shores, Fla.The panels weigh over 100,000 poundseach.

24. The 90’ tower and the structural slabs~ which frame the exterior of First Con~ gregational Church in Waterbury, Conn.,~ are both formed of precast exposed ag> gregate concrete. The load-bearing panels

~ measure 31’ high, 6’ wide.

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20 Arch.C Doucina, WilIian,s, Phippsr Eng.C lyerlo & Peden; P/C fabricatord Central Pre-mix Concrete Co.

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22. Serving as a landmark near SantaMonica, Calif., is Campanil Crespi, aprestressed and post-tensioned monumenthonoring an early priest. The 50’ tallmonument was formed of three arches,then capped with the bell support, shownhere with construction work scaffolding.

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Double-Tee Serves As Footbridge at University of orth Dakota

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205 W. WACKER DRIVECHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60605

(312) 346-4071

Return Requested—Printed in U.S.A.

Russian-English DictionaryOf Prestressed Concrete

Available From PCICopies of the new “Russian-English

Dictionary of Prestressed Concrete andConcrete Construction” are availablefrom the Prestressed Concrete Instituteat a special price of $10 per copy. The120-page publication, which containssome 13,000 terms, normally sells for$20. Orders must be accompanied bycheck or money order, payable to PCI.

The dictionary is designed to permitthe architect, engineer or concrete specialist to read and translate Russiantechnological literature. The Russian ispresented in the Cyrillic alphabet; thetranslation is from Russian to English,only.

Editors are Ben C. Gerwick and PeterV. Peters. Publisher is Gordon and BreachScience Publishers, Inc., New York City.

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~25 Arch.-Eng.: Foss Erigelstod Foss; P C fobricotor~ Wells Concrete Products Co.

A standard 8-ft.-wide double-tee serves as a unique footbridge at the Universityo~f North Dakota’s campus in Grand Forks. The 72’-8” long beam was designedwith a 4” camber, for aesthetic purposes, to arch across the English Coulee. Fundsfor the construction of the Alice C. Fox Memorial Bridge were contributed byErnest F. Fox, Sr., of Billings, Mont., in memory of his wife.

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PRESTRESSED CONCRETE INSTITUTE PCI

ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTU RAL

PCITEMS welcomes material on theapplication of precast and prestressedconcrete. Send material to: The Editor,

PCITEMS.

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PAIDChicago, Illinois

PERMIT NO. 6374

December, 1966