NEW MEGACHURCH:
COEXISTENCE OF SACRED AND SECULAR
by
Jaeyual Lee
B.S. in Architectural Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009
Submitted to the Department of Architecture
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE
at the
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
February 2014
© 2014 Jaeyual Lee. All rights reserved.
The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute
publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in
part in any medium now known or hereafter created.
Signature of Author:________________________________________________
Department of Architecture
January 16, 2014
Certified by:_______________________________________________________
William O'Brien Jr.
Assistant Professor of Architecture
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by:______________________________________________________
Takehiko Nagakura
Associate Professor of Design and Computation
Chair of the Department Committee on Graduate Students
1
2
THESIS COMMITTEE
William O’Brien Jr.
Assistant Professor of Architecture
Department of Architecture
Advisor
Renée Green
Professor of Art, Culture and Technology
Director of the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
Reader
Takehiko Nagakura
Associate Professor of Design and Computation
Department of Architecture
Reader
3
Fig 1. montage of a traditional cathedral
Fig 2. conceptual montage of new megachurch
4
NEW MEGACHURCH:
COEXISTENCE OF SACRED AND SECULAR
by
Jaeyual Lee
Submitted to the Department of Architecture
on January 16, 2014 in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture
ABSTRACT
Protestants today seem to approach public worship with one or the other of two quite different
attitudes. Many Protestants understand worship as primarily a matter of feelings; others see
worship as basically work done in God’s service. While there are glamorously designed churches
emphasizing value of sacredness and its symbolism, there are also practical and temperate
churches valuing people rather than the place. Whether the latter development of secular church
forms were developed out of liturgical sincerity or as the result of Capitalism due to economic
competition, it is most prevalent form of Protestant churches today.
Specifically on my site near Flushing, NY, with high density of Korean immigrant settlements who
mostly serve on ethnic commercial and service business, many of informal church typology of pet
architecture started to emerge. Its phenomena along the main artery of Korea Town in flushing are
so predominant that there are multiple churches per every single block of city fabric on Northern
Boulevard. One cannot distinguish a church from a commercial store if there was not a signboard
indicating its name. Liturgical principle of religious space is completely ignored with invention of
commercial churches.
The term megachurch generally refers to any Protestant congregation church with a sustained
average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more in its worship services. With its high density of pet
churches in Flushing, NY, average total attendance of weekly Korean Protestant worship easily
exceed 10,000.
My thesis is about invention of typology of new megachurch. Rather than a giant space occupied
by a single congregation, it is an infrastructure for agglomeration of religious spaces that can
expand and contract based on its demand. Acknowledging abnormal high density of religious
needs around Korean immigrant community and the importance of service industry, a new mutant
typology of sacred and secular spaces in coexistence is proposed. Simply put, it is a shopping
mall of churches offering their religious services in competition, which the exact situation is happening in Flushing today.
Thesis Supervisor: William O’Brien Jr.
Title: Assistant Professor of Architecture
5
Fig 3. new megachurch, physical model
6
CHAPTERS
1.
The lineage of Megachurch
2.
Its legacy and prosperity
3.
Flushing, NY.
4.
Sacredness and Secularity
5.
Infrastructure for Coexistance
7
Fig 4. Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Megachurch with 43,500 weekly attendance
source: http://taylormarshall.com
Private sphere
(sacred activities:
worship, prayer, etc.)
Public sphere
(secular activities: work,
play, family, politics, etc.)
GOD
MEGA
CHURCH
the mediating
institution
sacred realm
secular realm
Dualistic Spirituality
8
WORLD
1. The lineage of Megachurch
A megachurch is widely defined as a church with weekly worship attendance exceeding
2,000 adults and children. Some of their distinctive characteristics include a charismatic and
authoritative senior minister, a very active 7 day a week congregational community, a multitude of
social and outreach ministries, and a complex differentiated organizational structure. The social role
of megachurch as a new community center calls the rise of Protestant megachurches as important
social phenomenon. With evangelical emphasize on function, informality, and reachability into
general public, adopting secular form of architecture. While their intention on informality is clear, the
resulting architecture form of megachurch has been driven by capitalism and desire for efficiency in
its economic growth. What interests me the most is the complexity and multiplication of its
supplementary programs that comprise megachurch. When looking at its typological progression,
only haste means of physical expansion of main gathering space for mass congregation has been
emphasized, while neglecting demand for extracurricular programs. My thesis intends to investigate
new typology of megachurch that participate a collision between sacred and secular, both
programmatically and spatially dismantling the barrier between the two.
9
LINEAGE OF MEGACHURCH
distribution of U.S. Protestant and Other Christian Churches by size
ATTENDANCE
30 million
25 million
20 million
15 million
10 million
5 million
Weekly
Worshipers
0
7-99
100-499
500-999
1,000-1,999
2,000-9,999
10,000-plus
Attendance
8%
2,000-plus
PROPORTION
16%
7-99
14%
1,000-1,999
16%
500-999
45%
100-499
10
source: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/database.html
SIZE
60%
50%
48%
40%
30%
20%
15%
10%
14%
10%
9%
5%
0
1,800-1,999
2,000-2,999
3,000-3,999
4,000-4,999
5,000-5,999
10,000-plus
Average Weekly Attendance
RACIAL DISTRIBUTION
90%
82%
80%
75%
72%
Megachurches
Pastors
US Population (2010 US Census Data
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
13%
16%
13%
10%
10%
9%
5%
1%
0
Caucasian
African American
2%
Hispanic
2%
Asian
11
LOCATION BY REGION
1%
13%
4%
9%
18%
8%
22%
10%
15%
MEGACHURCH FOUNDING DATES
30%
27%
25%
26%
48%
22%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
1949 or earlier
1950-1969
1970-1989
1990-2011
source: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/database.html
THEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION
Evangelical
71%
Pentecostal
8%
Seeker
5%
Charismatic
5%
Moderate
4%
Missional
4%
Fundamentalist
1%
Other
1%
Liberal
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
PARTICIPANT AGE GROUPS
Age 65 and over
11%
Age 50 - 64
19%
Age 35 - 49
28%
Age 19 - 34
20%
Age 0 - 17
22%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
70%
80%
THE MEETING HOUSE
BUILDING FOR REVIVALISM
THE AUDITORIUM CHURCH
17th century meetinghouses
builty by the New England
Puritans.Their uilitarian, plainstyle structures embodied
functionalist aesthetic that
became the hallmark of evangelical architecture in the 19th
and 20th centuries.
The revival structures used by
evangelists in the late 18th and
early 19th century to reach the
unchurched and unconverted in
frontier areas, villages and towns.
They held their revival meetings in
nonchurch strustures: open-air
campgrouds, tents, and, especailly
in the large cities, commercial
buildings, including music halls and
theaters.
The large, often sumptuous auditorium churches built by white and
African American mainline evangelical congregations from the mid
19th centry into 20th century.
Campground Washington D.C. (1809)
Camp Meeting (1854)
1618_ Puritan settlement in Virginia Colony
Elder Ballou Meeting House (1740)
BUILDING FOR REVIVALISM
THE MEETING HOUSE
1700
14
1800
The Multipurpose Church
The multipurpose facilities including
educational, social, recreational,
community welfare programs were
built addition to the auditorium
churches.
LINEAGE OF MEGACHURCH
from meeting house to megachurch
precedent typology
Broadway Tabernacle (1860)
Garden Grove Community Church (1962)
Church and Sunday-School Building (1920)
Billy Sunday Tabernacle (1920)
Lakewood Church (2003)
MEGACHURCH
BUILDING FOR MASS EVANGELISM
THE MULTIPURPOSE CHURCH
THE AUDITORIUM CHURCH
1900
2000
15
MEGA in MEGACHURCH
Transition from Physical to Virtual Space : Technology
INFORMALITY
The camp meeting
- simple & uilitarian
- ability to reach into poor population
- not a sacred place
MEGA-STURCTURE
Stadium/ Arena
- secular structure as a model for
a revival meeting in place
- Ex) Lakewood Church using former
sports arena of the Houston Rockets
16
ENTERTAINMENT
Theaters
- great acoustics
emotions
BROADCASTING
Video + Internet Technology
- live broadcast of sermons worldwide.
- copies of the service for members who
missed.
- no need for physical attendance.
AUTO +
MOBILITY
Tabernacle
- mobility
- accomodate large aggregation at
cheap cost
- refernece in Exodus: tabernalce in
the wilderness
Drive-In Church
- automobility
- no need for physical building structure
- informality
- convenience
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Social Network
- ability to reach out in virtual space
- no need for physical attendance with
easier accessability with technology.
Typology of Megachurch has evolved with adaptation to new technology.
How will current technology of social networking will transform definition of “MEGA” church?
What is next forthcoming “MEGA”?
17
2. Its Legacy and Prosperity
The number of Korean Churches in the U.S. is a staggering 4,096 as of December 2011.
As a result, the ratio of Koreans to Korean churches in the U.S. is far greater than the ratio in South
Korea. There is 1 Korean church for every 350 Koreans in the US; in South Korea, there is 1 church
for every 1,000. Various reasons have affected the growth of the Korean ethnic church in the United
States from 1902 to today. Two main sociological factors include United States’ immigration
policies and the simple fact that Koreans want to be with other Koreans. But sociological factors
alone cannot adequately explain the growth of the Korean ethnic church since we know that other
immigrant groups have experienced similar sociological phenomena but not similar church growth.
Confucian values that emphasize filial piety, family ties, the patriarchal family order, and
children’s education have powerful effect on the family system in South Korea – and they continue
to exert an influence on Korean immigrant families in the United States. Korean immigrants are
more successful than other Asian immigrant groups in maintaining their pre-migration culture
because of their strong ethnic networks, including ethnic churches, and economic segregation.
Churches in Korean immigrant communities are not only place of religion, but also cultural
and spiritual shelter for people enduring their laborious struggle toward “American Dream.” Immi
grants want to be part of an ethnic church, including the American born Korean Americans. Since
churches are social institutions as well as religious ones, the ethnic factor seems to predominate in
determining one’s place of worship. There is a growing struggle between the 1st and 2nd
generations due to language barrier and cultural miscommunication, but various programs in
church including maintenance of cultural tradition and social services play important role as an
18
arbitrator of cultural and social conflicts between the generations. Because Korean immigrants see
themselves as outsiders in American mainstream society, the church plays an important role in
gratifying their need for inclusion, significance, social status, respect and power.
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. There are
more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. While generally associated with
the United States, the phenomenon has spread worldwide. In 2007, five of the ten largest
Protestant churches were in South Korea.
19
A Positive Outlook
based on surverys of 729 leaders.
1,600
The number of churches in North America with a
worship attendance of at least 2,000 adults + children.
83%
of megachurches expect to meet budget this year.
79%
of megachurches are growing.
Among all Protestant churches across North America,
only about 20% are growing.
In sharp contrast a much higher percent of megachurches are growing.
Of the churces in the study, 79% report attendance growth between 2010 & 2012.
Within that 79%, 27% are reporting growth at a double digit rate.
81%
of megachurches are planning to increase
salaries at the next review point.
2% increase (18.5%)
1% increase (3.8%)
No Change (17.9%)
Decrease (1.1%)
6% or more (4.4%)
3% increase (34.8%)
5% increase (8.2%)
4% increase (11.4%)
20
source: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/database.html
75%
are adding new staff members in the coming year.
55% are adding between 1-4 new staff.
13% are adding between 5-9 new staff.
70%
of churches with attendnace of 2,000 or
more saw an increase in offerings from
2011 to 2012
18% saw more than a 10% increase.
28% saw a 6 - 10% increase.
96%
of church’s budget comes from individual
donations.
78%
of churches receive up to a third of their
giving electronically.
A
$
As church attendance increases,
giving per person decreases.
The overall average of churches with worship attendances from 1,000 to over
10,000 was $29 / person / week. That’s the same as $1,492 / person / year.
84%
of churches give 10% or more of their
budget to ministry beyond their own
congregation.
21
MEGACHURCH SALARY
Salary = total cash compensation ( including cash toward housing )
All 325,000 Protestant Churches
Churches with weekend
worship attendance of
2,000 or more
3,000 +
4,000 +
5,000 +
7,000 +
9,000 +
6,000 +
8,000 +
10,000 +
in thousands
The Larger the Church Budget,
The Higher the Senior Leadership’s Salary
$1800
$1600
Average Salary of Sr. Lead Team
$140
$1200
$100
80th percentile
60th percentile
40th percentile
20th percentile
$80
$60
$40
$1-2.9M
$3-4.9M
$5-6.9M
$7-8.9M $8-10.9M $11-15.9M $16-30M
Annual Chruch Budget
22
source: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/database.html
in thousands
Megachurch Salaries Grow Gradually
as Church Size Increases
$280
$260
$240
$220
$200
Senior Pastor Salary
$180
$160
$140
$120
$100
$80
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
Weekend Worship Attendance
Worshipper-to-Staff Ratios Hold Even Until Attendance
Reaches 10,000
Church Size
10,000-14,999
6,000-9,999
4,000-5,999
3,000-3,999
2,000-2,999
1,000-1,999
Median Number of
Staff
Worshipper-to-Staff
Ratio
98
95
59
40
31
20
131:1
80:1
80:1
78:1
80:1
71:1
23
LINEAGE OF MEGACHURCH
LINEAGE OF MEGACHURCH
LOC
Largest Megachurches in the U.S.Largest
today Megachurches in the U.S. today
13
12,000//MIT Campus (For comparison)
(Cambridge, MA)
0
200’
400’
LINEAGE
OF
LINEAGE OF MEGACHURCH
12,000//MIT Campus
(ForMEGACHURCH
comparison)
LOC
Largest Megachurches in the Largest
U.S. today
Megachurches in the U.S. today
(Cambridge, MA)
800’
0
200’
400’
800’
13
12,000//MIT Campus (For comparison)
(Cambridge, MA)
0
200’
400’
800’
12,000//MIT Campus (For comparison)
(Cambridge, MA)
0
200’
400’
800’
1_43,500//Lakewood Church
(Houston, TX)
2_27,429//North
1_43,500//Lakewood
Point Community
Church Church
(Atlanta,
(Houston,
GA) TX)
1_43,500//Lakewood Church
(Houston, TX)
1_43,500//Lakewood
2_27,429//North Point
Church
Community Church
(Houston,
(Atlanta,
TX)
GA)
6_Southeast Christian Church
(Louisville, KY)
7_20,000//West
6_SoutheastAngles
Christian
Church
Church
of God in Christ
(Los(Louisville,
Angeles, CA)
KY)
6_Southeast Christian Church
(Louisville, KY)
6_Southeast
7_20,000//West
Christian
Angles
Church
Church of God in Christ
(Louisville,
(Los Angeles,
KY) CA)
3_26,776//LifeChurch.tv
2_27,429//North Point Community Church
(Edmond,
(Atlanta,
OK)GA)
2_27,429//North
3_26,776//LifeChurch.tv
Point Community Church
(Atlanta,
(Edmond,
GA) OK)
8_19,742//Saddleback
7_20,000//West Angles
Church
Church of God in Christ
(Lake
(Los
Forest,
Angeles,
CA) CA)
7_20,000//West
8_19,742//Saddleback
Angles Church
Church
of God in Christ
(Los(Lake
Angeles,
Forest,
CA)CA)
Fig 5. Size comparison maps of the 10 largest megachurchs in U.S. with MIT campus
24
4_24,377//Willow
3_26,776//LifeChurc
Creek
(South
(Edmond,
Barrington,
OK) IL)
3_26,776//LifeChurch.tv
4_24,377//Willow Creek
(Edmond,
(South Barrington,
OK)
IL)
9_18,386//Woodlands
8_19,742//Saddleba
C
(Woodlands,
(Lake Forest,
TX) CA)
8_19,742//Saddleback
9_18,386//Woodlands
Chu
C
(Lake
(Woodlands,
Forest, CA)TX)
CATION BY REGION
LOCATION BY REGION
3%
13%
4%
9%
18%
10%
15%
13%
22%
kch.tv
Community Church
k Community Church
22%
10%
15%
1%
1%
4%
4%
9%
9%
18%
8%
18%
8%
LOCATION BY REGION
3%
Church
urch
1%
4%
9%
8%
CATION BY REGION
Church
ack Church
1%
10%
18%
8%
22%
15%
5_23,900//Without
4_24,377//Willow
Walls
Creek
International
Community Church
(Tampa,
(South
FL)Barrington, IL)
4_24,377//Willow
5_23,900//Without
CreekWalls
Community
International
Church
(South
(Tampa,
Barrington,
FL)
IL)
10_18,223//Central
9_18,386//Woodlands
Christian
Church
Church
(Las(Woodlands,
Vegas, NV) TX)
9_18,386//Woodlands
10_18,223//CentralChurch
Christian Church
(Woodlands,
(Las Vegas,
TX)
NV)
10%
22%
15%
5_23,900//Without Walls International
(Tampa, FL)
5_23,900//Without Walls International
(Tampa, FL)
10_18,223//Central Christian Church
(Las Vegas, NV)
10_18,223//Central Christian Church
(Las Vegas, NV)
25
Elevated Rapid
Transit System
Parking
Garage
Parking
Garage
Parking
Garage
Pa
Ga
Main Auditor
Warehouse Parking Lot
Warehouse Parking Lot
Parking Lot
Service
Par
Auditorium
Presch
Dining
Parking
Garage
Service
Typology 1 _ URBAN EXPANSION
Typology 1 _ URBAN EXPANSION
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville,First
FL Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL
Membership = 28,000
Membership = 28,000
original building
expansion 1
expansion 2
elevated rapid transit system
sky bridge
parking
original building
expansion 1
expansion 2
elevated rapid transit system
sky bridge
parking
Fig 6. Program diagram of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL
26
Administration
Elevated Rapid
Transit System
arking
arage
rium
Main Auditorium
Parking
Garage
rking Lot
Parking
Garage
Auditorium
hool
+
Preschool +
Service
Welcome Center
Welcome Center
g Room
Dining Room
Children’s Building
Children’s Building
n
Parking
Garage
Service
Administration
While many of churches moved to the suburbs, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville decided to remain downtown taking advantage of the metropolitan expressway system and reinvented itself as a regional church.
An elevated rapid trasit system with a stop at First Baptist, promised to provide another convenient mode of
transportation to the church. The church also made it easy for congregants to park their cars and find their way
around the church complex and into the auditorium. By the mid 1990s it had built three large parking garages
featuring elevated walkways that linked them to the various buildings in the church complex.
Urban Density / Adjacent Expansion / Transit Infrastructure / Sky Bridge
27
Elevated rapid transit system Elevated rapid transit system
with direct stop at church
with direct stop at church
28
Main Auditorium
Main Auditorium
Exterior view showing sky bridge
Exterior view showing sky bridge
connection with parking garageconnection with parking garage
29
Typology 2 _ REMODELING OF Typology
COMMERCIAL
2 _ REMODELING
BUILDING OF COMMERCIAL BUILDING
Faith Community Church in West
Faith
Covina,
Community
California
Church in West Covina, California
Membership = 10,000
Membership = 10,000
original building (Dollar Saver original
Market) building (Dollar Saver Market)
expansion 1 (Hughes Aircraft Manufacture)
expansion 1 (Hughes Aircraft Manufacture)
recreational area
recreational area
original parking
original parking
expanded parking
expanded parking
Fig 7. Program diagram of Faith Community Church in West Covina, CA
30
The origins of Faith Community Church is linked with the shopping mall. The previous church building had been
a remodeled Dollar Saver supermarket. In the mid 1990s, the congregation bought a buildign where Hughes
Aircraft had once manufactured torpedoes and flight simulators for Stealth Bombers. Beside the low price,
ample space (165,000 sq ft), and parking for eleven hundred cars, another attractive feature of the building was
its location, accessible from four freeways.
Remodeling Commercial / Freeway Infrastructure / Large Parking Lot
31
Typical Dollar Saver Supermarket
Typical Dollar Saver Supermarket
32
Exterior View after conversionExterior View after conversion
Original Commercial Building Original Commercial Building
33
C
Preschool
Freeway
Freeway
Typology 3 _ INFLUENCE OF THE
Typology
SHOPPING
3 _ MALL
INFLUENCE OF THE SHOPPING MALL
A Community Church of Joy in Glendale,
A Community
Arizona
Church of Joy in Glendale, Arizona
Membership = 12,000
Membership = 12,000
Auditorium
Auditorium
classroom / multipurpose roomclassroom / multipurpose room
recreational area
recreational area
parking
parking
freeway
freeway
Fig 8. Program diagram of A Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Arizona
34
Baseball Field
Baseball Field
Baseball Field
Classrooms + Offices
Baseball Field
Classrooms + Offices
Gym
Gym
Preschool
Worship Center
Worship Center
Recreation Center
Recreation Center
The influence of the shopping mall style is prevalent in a Community of Joy in Arizona. It looks like a toy or
children’s clothing store than religious building. A multipurpose- conference/ banquet center resembles
- a ten
screen mall movie theater. It is an example of a “themed environment.” Just as amusement parks and restau
rants used architecture and decor to create a “themed space,” the Joy church not only looked like a shopping
mall but also offered its “customers” the experiences they enjoyed in the mall: consumption, entertainment,
and community
Themed Environment / Freeway Infrastructure / Shopping Mall Decor
35
Shopping mall - like parking map
Shopping mall - like parking map
36
Childcare & Preschool, A Community
Childcare
of Joy
& Preschool, A Community of Joy
Conference / banquet center Conference / banquet center
37
Parking
Freeway
Parking Garage
Parking Garage
Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church
Freeway
Freeway
Typology 4 _ RE-USE OF MEGA Typology
STRUCTURE
4 _ RE-USE OF MEGA STRUCTURE
Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas
Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas
Membership = 44,000
Membership = 44,000
Lakewood Church
parking
freeway
Lakewood Church
parking
freeway
Fig 9. Program diagram of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX
38
Parking
Parking
Parking
Freeway
The 16,000 seat sanctuary of Lakewood Church in Houston is the nation’s
largest nondenominational congrega
tion. It has theater seats instead of wooden pews, a stage instead of an altar, and video projection screens
instead of stained-glass windows. Hardly a classic place of worship, although the expansive expression of reli
gious community in the vast space is impressive. It is a converted sports arena of the Compaq Center, once
home to the Houston Rockets. The desire of congregations to make their place of worship a part of everyday life
rather than a sacred place, they avoided the traditional ecclesiastical symbols and emphasized its austerity.
Megastructure / Freeway Infrastructure / Sports Arena
39
Auditorium interior with full capacity
40
Exterior
Exterior
Seating Charts
Seating Charts
41
3. Flushing, NY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Fig 10. Mapping of Megachurch and Korean church in Metropolitan NYC area
KOREAN CHURCH
MEGACHURCH
WATER
GREEN SPACE
AREA OF INTERST
42
11
12
13
G
I
Fig 10. Mapping of different church typology in Flushing, NY
MEGA CHURCH
RESIDENTIAL CHURCH
COMMERCIAL CHURCH
INDEPENDENT CHURCH
PARASITE CHURCH
SITE
43
RESIDENTIAL CHURCH
COMMERCIAL CHURCH
INDIVIDUAL CHURCH
MEGACHURCH
SITE
Fig 11. Massing diagram of different church typology in Flushing, NY
44
XL
S
L
M
Fig 12. New megachurch growth scenario with different scale of churches
45
4. Sacredness and Secularity
Fig 13.Montage of traditional cathedral space
46
Fig 14. Montage of new megachurch arcade space
47
F
A
A
A
L
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
2_Roman law court-church 4th c.
3_Eastern Orthodox church 4th c.
A
L
F
P
P
A
A
A
A
A
F
P
A
A
A
A
4_Monastic orders church 5th c.
F
F
A
A
1_Roman house-church A.D. 256
A
A
A
Court
5_Great cathedrals church 5th c.
6_Parish church, medieval period
7_Church at Freudenstadt 1601-8
8_Marienkirche in Grossenhain 1748
P
P
A
P
F
L
P
A
P
P
P
P
9_Jerusalem-Kirche in Berlin 1726-28
10_Frauenkirche in Dresden 1726-38
11_Mare Church in Leiden 1649
13_the Oosterkerk, Amsterdam 1671
12_New Church in the Hague 1656
15_the Temple of Charenton 1623
16_Reay Parish Church 1739
P
D
P
D
P
14_the Noorder Kerk, Amsterdam 1623
D
P
A
A
A
A
P
P
D P
A
F
F
17_Lauder 1673
18_Dreghorn 1780
A
F
D
P
D
20_Chislehampton 1762
19_St. Mary-at-Hill, London 1677
21_St. Paul's Church, Wickford, RI 1707
22_St. James' Church, Goose Creek, SC 1711
23_Trinity Church, Newport RI 1725
24_Christ Church, Lancaster County, VA 1732
P
A
P
A
25_Donation Church, Princess Anne County, VA 1736
P
D
A
F
A P
A P
27_the New England meetinghouse 17th c.
26_St. Peter's, Philadelphia 1758
28_the New England meetinghouse 18th c.
29_church after the Revolutionary War 18th c.
F
P
A
A P
30_the Quaker meetinghouse in Medford NJ 1814
ADP
31_the octagonal meetinghouse in Norwich 1757
32_the New Room in Bristol 1739
A
A
C
P
A
D P
AP
C
C
F
C
A
A
C
F
A
F
P
A
Over
P
L
F
C
F
33_the City Road Chapel in London 1778
34_Broadway Tabernacle 1832
35_the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Akron 1872 (Akron Plan)
36_the new Coventry Cathedral 1840
37_the Church of St. Englebert's in Cologne-Riehl 1932
38_Corpus Christi Church at Aachen 1930
39_St. Michael's Church in Frankfort 1954
40_His Church of Our Lady of Lourdes at Pontarlier, France 1959
F
A
F
P
P
A F
P
P
P
A
C
A
A
P
F
A
A
A
A
C
A
C
F
F
F
41_the Church of St. Jacques Grenoble, France 1959
42_St. Mark's Church, Burlington, VT 1944
43_the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Holyoke, MA 1953
44_the Reformed Church at Zurich-Alstetten 1941
45_the Maranatha Church of Amsterdam-Zuid 1954
A
P
48_the Resurrection Church in Amsterdam-West 1956
P
F
C
47_the Redeemer Church of Bussum 1956
D
P
A
A
F
F
C
Over
P
Over
C
A P
F
46_the Advent Church in the Hague 1955
F
A
A
F
C
A
A
F
F
A
A
P
P
L
L
L
C
C
Over
Over
49_the Cross Church of Amstelveen 1951
50_the John Keble Church, Mill Hill in London 1936
51_the Church of the Ascension, Crownhill, Plymouth 1958
53_the Episcopal Church of Saint Clement, Alexandria, VA 1949
52_St. Paul, Bow Common, London 1960
54_the Chapel of St. James the Fisherman in Cape Cod 1956
55_St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Dallas, TX 1959
56_the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Lyndhurst 1958
C
Over
L
C
F
A
A
P
C
F
A
L P C
Over
A
L
P
P
57_St. Bede's Church, Menlo Park, CA 1962
58_St. John's Lutheran Church, Midland, MI 1955
59_the Englewood Methodist Church in Chicago 1963
60_Bethany Presbyterian Church in Portland OR 1958
Fig 15. Analysis of historical church plans
PROTESTANT WORSHIP AND
CHURCH ARCHITECTURE
A _ altar-table
P _ pulpit
L _ lectern
D _ reading desk
F _ font
C _ choir
early and medieval patterns
reformation experiments
behind the current stalemate
recent experiments
48
Over
L
F
A
A
P
C
F
A
L P C
C
Over
A
L
P
P
57_St. Bede's Church, Menlo Park, CA 1962
P _ pulpit
L _ lectern
D _ reading desk
F _ font
C _ choir
early and medieval patterns
reformation experiments
behind the current stalemate
recent experiments
58_St. John's Lutheran Church, Midland, MI 1955
59_the Englewood Methodist Church in Chicago 1963
60_Bethany Presbyterian Church in Portland OR 1958
MEGA CHURCH
RESIDENTIAL CHURCH
COMMERCIAL CHURCH
INDEPENDENT CHURCH
PARASITE CHURCH
Fig 16. Visual of different church typology in Flushing, NY
49
5. Infrastructure for coexistance
Fig 17. Sketch model of penetrating
volumne
Fig 18. Sketch model of massing
50
Fig 19. Concept model of distributed church massing
Fig 20. Structure model
Fig 21. Negative massing model of crucifix
51
52
Final model photographs
53
54
Final model photographs
55
56
Final model photographs
57
58
Fig 22. Site plan
Fig 23. Ground floor plan
59
60
Fig 24. Second floor plan
Fig 25. Third floor plan
61
Fig 26. Exterior view rendering
62
63
Fig 27. XL Church interior rendering
64
65
Fig 28. L Church interior rendering
66
67
Fig 29. Exterior terrace rendering
68
69
Fig 30. Main arcade rendering
70
71
Fig 31. Folded section perspectives
72
73
Bibliography
Benitez, Cristina Paredes. Faith - Spiritual Architecture: New Religious Buildings. Barcelona:
Loft Publications, 2009. Print.
Cho, Mi Jin. Megachurch: New Typology of Megachurch in South Korea. N.p.: n.p., 2012.
Print.
Doorly, Moyra. No Place for God: The Denial of the Transcendent in Modern Church
Architecture. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2007. Print.
Heathcote, Edwin, and Laura Moffatt. Contemporary Church Architecture. Chichester,
England: Wiley-Academy, 2007. Print.
Hey, Sam. Mega Church: Origins, Ministry and Prospects. Preston, Vic.: Mosaic, 2013.
Print.
Hoffman, Douglas R. Seeking the Sacred in Contemporary Religious Architecture. Kent,
OH: Kent State UP, 2010. Print.
Purdy, M. T. Churches and Chapels: A Design and Development Guide. Oxford:
Butterworth Architecture, 1991. Print.
Stegers, Rudolf, and Dorothea Baumann. Sacred Buildings: A Design Manual. Basel:
Birkhauser, 2010. Print.
White, James F. Protestant Worship and Church Architecture: Theological and Historical
Considerations. New York: Oxford UP, 1964. Print.
74
NEW MEGACHURCH:
COEXISTENCE OF SACRED AND SECULAR
by
Jaeyual Lee
B.S. in Architectural Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009
Submitted to the Department of Architecture
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE
at the
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
February 2014
© 2014 Jaeyual Lee. All rights reserved.
75