The Search For Structure in a Baptist Church

Abstract

First Baptist Church of Guilford in Columbia, MD is seeking a design for its fourth church due to its ever increasing membership. The needs of its members and surrounding community are however not limited to worship but also include the desire for commercial areas for business ventures, day care, and recreational facilities. These desires have the making of a "Super Church" which has become all too common in metropolitan areas. The requirements of a growing church body requires the architect to have an understanding of the denomination, liturgy, and possess the design creativity to construct a structural envelope that is suitable for a religious building. The purpose of this thesis is to explore alternative prototypical structural and architectural solutions in response to the building program created by the Architectural Committee and their design consultants.