El Dorado

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair

UNITARIAN FELLOWSHIP OF LAWRENCE 

El Dorado

ARCHITECTS
El Dorado Inc

PHOTOGRAPHS
Mike Sinclair

AREA
4000.0 m2

YEAR
2008

LOCATION
Lawrence, United States

CATEGORY
Worship, Adaptive Reuse

Text description provided by architect.

The Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence is located on a rural site about 10 miles south of Lawrence, Kansas. For years, the Fellowship held services within an existing 1880’s one-room schoolhouse.

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair

In the late 1960’s, the church added a classroom wing, which allowed the Fellowship continued growth. During the summer of 2006, the church elected to construct a new entry lobby and sanctuary large enough for 150 members, with a committee-based design process.

The grounds proved to be the guiding force for the new sanctuary design. Century-old hedge trees line the south and west edges of the site. Their high canopies provide strategic summer shading while also framing generous views of pastures to the south.

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair

The new sanctuary structure, intimately nestled between the hedgerows and the historic schoolhouse structure, offers a site-sensitive response to scale, materiality, shelter, and expanse.

The horizontal line, a poetic reference to the surrounding Kansas landscape, is utilized throughout the new architecture and underscores a Unitarian approach to spirituality rooted in Humanism and respect for the natural world

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair


Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair


Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
© Mike Sinclair


Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Section
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Section


Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Elevations
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Elevations
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Elevations
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Elevations


Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Plan
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Plan
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Plan
Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence
Detail

El Dorado
T +1 816 4743838
El Dorado
510 Avenida Cesar E Chavez, Kansas City, MO 64108, United States