Size: 9,592 square feet
Status: Completed 1987
Program: New religious facility designed in the spirit of the area's rural vernacular architecture
Unitarian Church North
After acquiring eight acres of rural land in Mequon, Wisconsin, the Unitarian Church Council approached TKWA with ideas for a new building to house worship, fellowship and administrative activities. The congregation requested a replica of an eight-sided barn of a style constructed and used in the Mequon area during the late nineteenth century.
At the outset of the design process, the design team conducted a survey of the few existing structures of this type remaining in the area with an eye toward proportion and authenticity. The low-lying nature of the site required extensive recontouring in order to insure proper drainage as well as the full utilization of natural lighting. Generous dimensioning of the cupola and its windows also help to illuminate and ventilate the worship space.