EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

When Frank L. Blum Construction Company heard that First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro was considering a comprehensive renovation to the two buildings originally constructed on their site in 1930, we knew that this project was a perfect fit for our firm. Our company had been working with religious facilities in the Triad since it was founded in 1923. Since that time, we had completed more than 100 projects for these religious clients. We had also successfully completed more than 100 historic restoration projects during that time, many of which were in the religious facilities in which we had worked. The design team led by CJMW Architecture, Harbinson Architects, and SKA Consulting Engineers had all been long- time partners. Senior Superintendent Mark Gill, the field supervisor proposed for this project, had personally completed a very similar renovation project for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, NC earlier in his career. The right team was available, and that team clearly had the right experience to provide FPC Greensboro with an exceptional project that would help bring their dream to life.

Challenges arose as the project moved into the construction phase. Not the least of which was fitting the new elements into existing spaces. All of the mechanical systems in the buildings were replaced, including the original boilers in the subterranean mechanical room, which fed the entire church campus. The boilers were disassembled and removed (to great fanfare) through the original coal shaft on Green Street that was reopened as part of this project. Plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems had to be fished through 80-year-old walls and ceilings to deliver the comfort and efficiency of a twenty-first century building without detracting from the historic architectural detailing. New underground piping was installed through the courtyard to feed the adjacent buildings, which required a six-foot-deep trench through the middle of the courtyard for most of the project.

The work in the Sanctuary was, in many ways, the most unique work done on the project. Scaffolding was installed from floor to ceiling in the eighty-foottall space, allowing crews to remove, and ultimately reinstall, twelve 450-pound chandeliers that were restored and upgraded by artisans in Virginia. The ornately-painted wood ceiling was cleaned and restored to its former grandeur. Skilled plasterers and artists restored the hand-painted mural on the wall behind the chancel. The magnificent stained glass windows were cleaned. New audio-visual equipment was painstakingly installed to hide any wiring from view, and now provide a world-class experience for the congregation. The final product is a Sanctuary displaying historic items that are preserved in, restored to, and renovated from, their original state. Gill remarks, “I have worked on very few projects that incorporate elements of preservation, restoration, and renovation. This project for FPC Greensboro melded all three to produce a finished project that I believe to be oneof-a-kind in the Triad, and likely in North Carolina. New building components were seamlessly integrated within the historic structure to produce a twenty-first century building in a 1930 wrapper.”

Project Description

Hobart Upjohn (1876-1949), a New York architect who gave North Carolina an extraordinary number of church and educational buildings, designed FPC Greensboro in 1927. He worked in a variety of historic styles, sometimes even a mixture of styles, according to his clients’ wishes and the context in which his buildings were intended.

For First Presbyterian, the Gothic Cathédrale SteCécile of Albi, France, provided Upjohn’s primary inspiration. Like the Albi cathedral, First Presbyterian is a dramatic, bold, yet graceful solid-brick structure. Among other striking architectural details, bell-bottomed towers flank the main entrance. Inside, the polychrome coffered and trussed ceiling gives the sanctuary an exotic quality. Large chandeliers overhead, glowing in multi-colored hues with stained glass and mica glazing, enhance the effect.

From the moment CJMW Architecture received a request for qualifications from First Presbyterian Church Greensboro for a comprehensive renovation, they were excited about the project. CJMW has completed renovations of numerous historic buildings and is very experienced in leading large, multi-disciplinary teams on what are inevitably complex projects. In addition, the firm’s extensive experience in performing arts design meant they had dealt with issues like lighting and acoustics in large halls, both old and new. In fact, principal-in-charge, Alan Moore, had recently completed the renovation of Memorial Hall, a 1930’s auditorium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in which many similar issues – acoustics, updated engineering systems, adding onto a historic existing building – were addressed.

In approaching the retrofitting of any historic building, a design team has two basic options: modern interventions can either be hidden as much as possible, integrated into the fabric and aesthetic of the existing building; or they can be differentiated from the existing building, celebrated as separate and distinct as a way to contrast old and new.

The decision on which way to go often depends on the intended use of the building, as well as the culture of the client or building owner. The First Presbyterian Church Greensboro’s focus was on modernizing their facilities to match today’s operations and functions without losing the beauty and tradition of the historic space. In other words, the building needed to be relevant to family members, with space for young people and for new types of activities and events, but still needed to appeal to, and feel like home to, the existing and more traditional population.

So FPC Greensboro was clear – the end goal was to make anything new look as if it had always been a part of the original. The design team and Construction Manager, Frank L. Blum Construction Company, took this charge to heart. The team worked collaboratively, finding ways to make updates work within the building as unobtrusively as possible. “The tricky part is getting it all worked out without compromising any of the key components,” said Project Manager Kevin Jarrett, a CJMW Senior Associate.

To fill in gaps in terms of specific experience, Alan reached out to Jeff Harbinson of Harbinson Architects, a North Carolina native who specializes in the rehabilitation of historic churches from the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s. Jeff also had an interesting connection to the project – during his many years in New York City, he had worked on the rehabilitation of Trinity Church Wall Street, designed by Richard Upjohn, grandfather of First Presbyterian Church Greensboro’s architect, Hobart Upjohn. Jeff brought extensive knowledge and sensitivity to the historic building, as well as to the liturgical and operational needs of FPC Greensboro. The design team also included SKA Consulting Engineers who provided key input for the systems update, as well as an acoustician and theatre designers.

The deteriorating condition of the existing boiler, known as “Big John”, was the impetus for this project. The church needed a complete mechanical renovation and upgrade. Since this meant that the sanctuary and adjacent spaces would have to be unoccupied for a period of time, the leaders decided to renovate the original 1920s church complex, including the Gothic church building, undercroft, and attached, half- timbered Smith Building. Specific needs to be addressed included:

• A recognizable and welcoming main entrance on the Smith Building.

• A casual, multi-generational, welcoming space that would make the church more relevant and relatable.

• Improved lighting and acoustics in the sanctuary.

• Improved space for the music program.

• Upgrading clergy and support staff offices to make them more available and accessible to the membership.

A new entrance for the Smith Building

The main church building has a well-defined entrance. It sends a clear message about how the congregation should enter it on Sundays, for weddings and funerals, and for other church functions. That was not the case with the Smith Building. There were many doors into this building, but none suggested a public entrance or felt welcoming.

The location for a new main entrance was identified and decided upon. It would be located at the end of a wing extending out to Fisher Park Circle that is visible from two of the surrounding streets, convenient to guest parking, on the same side of the church complex as the main church entrance, and that faces the same direction. Between two octagonal brick towers on the corners, the first floor wall was opened and a large, slate-covered porch roof supported by large timber brackets, as well as, new wood and glass windows and doors were added. Parallel to the main church entrance and set between the towers, this entrance recalls the sanctuary’s entrance on a much smaller scale, yet it feels as if it is original to the building.

A multi-generational, relevant, welcoming space

New Solarium added to the Smith Building

The church wanted a comfortable, casual social hub of activity where members and visitors could meet outside of classrooms and official church functions. That space was found near the new main entrance in the Smith Building between the Renovated Meeting Space library and the children’s reading room. From the entrance, members and visitors first enter a very traditional, somewhat formal parlor where historic photos and memorabilia fill cabinets along the walls. The reception desk appears beyond the parlor, along with a new coffee shop/bistro. The children’s reading room is off to the left. To the right, under vaulted ceilings, is the library, now equipped with open carols and Internet connection. Beyond the library, sunlight fills a solarium where a variety of activities take place

Improved lighting in Sanctuary

The rings are pierced with geometric shapes similar to the existing fixtures and filled with mica. To further blend the new elements with the old, we added finials and crenellations to the rings. Today, these rings of light provide up-lighting for the sanctuary’s beautiful ceiling and much more down-lighting for general illumination.

Upgrading and enlarging clergy and support staff space

The church’s clergy and support staff needed more office and meeting space than was available on the Smith Building’s second floor. To solve that problem, we moved the support staff into the previously unused undercroft so the clergy offices could be enlarged. To make sure the support staff didn’t feel as if they’d been relegated to a “basement,” we placed their offices and meeting spaces along the perimeter of the undercroft near windows. The undercroft area is detailed and finished to match, and in some cases exceed, the quality of the offices on the second floor.