St Nicholas Church / Marlon Blackwell Architect

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Text description provided by the architects. After a lengthy search for property, the congregation of Saint Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church found a three acre site in Springdale, Arkansas, bordered to the east by a large public park and exposed to a major highway to the west. After a lengthy debate about the merits of the existing house and steel-framed shop building, the decision was made to repurpose the shop building into a new worship space. The existing shop building had three high lift garage doors, a small mezzanine for storage, and an office. The mezzanine and the office were completely removed, as was the western facade to allow for a larger mezzanine and a ten foot wide addition across the entire length of the west elevation. The steel frame was in only one location to allow for the introduction of a tower element that highlights the entry to the sanctuary. The building is enveloped by a new skin of box-ribbed metal panels and colored glass openings: the original gabled form is obscured and refined. Although a small structure, its bold form, surface and symbols make it recognizable both day and night from the nearby interstate.