I am a fan of NFL football and a fan of good design. So I looked with interest at a 6 page photo spread of the New York Jets incredible brand new training facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. The designs on this facility would seem to set a new mark for "thinking of everything".
The question was, "can architecture lead to better football?" It would seem the preliminary answer is "yes". The facility was one of the reasons Brett Favre chose the Jets. And the team is a strong playoff contender.
The way the architects designed every element of the facility to keep the experience of winning football in everyone's face is remarkable.
Examples? Executive offices have a glass wall (like a luxury box) that overlooks the indoor practice field "to remind the suits of their shared mission". The entrances to the building simulate the tunnel that players walk through to go onto the playing field--i.e. every employee enters their playing field as they go into the practice/office facility. The weight room is glass-walled to overlook the outdoor practice field--"I'm lifting these weights now so I can go out there and more effectively smash people."
Now this is a leap, but stay with me. Galilee Baptist Church, when it was designed and built in 1951, was constructed very purposefully to keep the experience of quality children's Sunday school in everyone's face. And they did a great job--Galilee was one of the largest in Chicago in the 50's and 60's.
However, its not the most effectively designed building if Sunday school is not the definition of the win for the church.
Now, Galilee's design is something we work around at New Life Lakeview. Sunday morning children's ministry is important, but it is not the mission. We've retrofitted the space to make it work for our purposes which are expressed better in small groups and worship gatherings with most of our real "work" as a church accomplished outside the church building. And its that last part--most of our work being outside the building--that compells me to wonder how I would redesign a church building to best express the church's real mission.
One thing I'd do--I'd somehow put the offices of the staff in proximity to people, where the mission lies. And maybe that's why I'm sitting in a cafe while I write this.
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