![Korean Presbyterian Church / Arcari + Iovino Architects - Facade, Windows, Column](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/52dc/015f/e8e4/4efb/2400/0160/large_jpg/_DSC5705_8.jpg?1390149975)
-
Architects: Arcari + Iovino Architects
- Year: 2013
-
Photographs:Courtesy of Arcari + Iovino Architects
Text description provided by the architects. The Parish’s objective for their new spiritual home was to create a destination that was more than a Sunday worship space. A community center setting where parishioners could spend their day in fellowship through worship, religious study, recreation, art appreciation, music and dining. The Church acquired a 24-acre site in northern New Jersey that had the base structures and open areas to establish a strong community campus. Existing outdoor recreation and reflection areas together with a former religious facility set the scene for the new building.
![Korean Presbyterian Church / Arcari + Iovino Architects - Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/52dc/016a/e8e4/4e4f/2100/01a3/large_jpg/PreChurch2.jpg?1390149986)
The sanctuary of the new 32,800 square foot facility accommodates 380 worshipers and is acoustically designed to accommodate music recitals and performances as well as its traditional function. Across a service zone, a multipurpose space gathers the parishioners before and after services. This two-story space has a mezzanine art gallery featuring works by parishioners. Comfortable seating areas receive natural light from a large skylight above. The lower level contains children’s chapels for three different age groups, which are occupied when the adults are in mass.
![Korean Presbyterian Church / Arcari + Iovino Architects - Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/52dc/015d/e8e4/4e45/1200/0184/large_jpg/_DSC5759_8.jpg?1390149975)
The recreation space also includes an indoor basketball court and a kitchen facility. The monolithic vertical fins of the sanctuary have three primary functions; they allow diffused light in and out of the space through floor-to-ceiling slots of patterned glass; they reinforce the acoustic quality of performances along with the ceiling system; and lastly they are sculptural elements in the landscape. The vertical expression of the stair, which serves as a beacon much like a classic bell tower, gives way to the horizontal lines of the main entrance façade. The façade incorporates a warm palate of materials utilizing bands of red brick, wood doors, and vision glass at a pedestrian scale welcoming to parishioners.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/52dc/01b9/e8e4/4e4f/2100/01a4/large_jpg/floor_(2).jpg?1390150015)