Niskayuna, NY
Client: Niskayuna Reformed Church
Project Type: New design in Historic Context
The 1852 Niskayuna Reformed Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The current congregation, having outgrown the existing church facilities, engaged JGWA to examine the existing spatial constraints and new programmatic requirements for the church facility and to create a design solution that would maintain the intimacy of the current sanctuary and uphold the integrity of the church’s historic precinct.
The firm designed a new facility to house a church fellowship hall, offices, and educational functions. The new building, which includes the fellowship hall, kitchen, a small chapel, pastor and staff offices, Sunday school classrooms, and a nursery school. It was also designed to eventually tie to the existing church via an underground connector. The building massing, the size and rhythm of fenestration, and the choice of materials gives the new fellowship and educational building a strong character of its own, while respecting the context of the existing church.
