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Changing Accommodations

    Added December 17, 2009

As published in Worship Facilities, Nov/Dec 2009

As churches are faced with making room for growing membership rolls as a result of the recession, many are turning to seating, flooring and furnishing options that are more cost effective and make the most out of the space they already have. This can be accomplished with renovations that make use of newer products.

Ron Ogden, vice president of sales for Series Seating, based in Miami, Fla., explains one of the ways that space “makeovers” are allowing churches to become better stewards of their space by replacing existing pews with theater-style seating. “A properly designed chair with a self-lifting seat will simply allow churches to increase seat capacity by an average of 20% over conventional pews,” says Ogden. He points out that this style change is really more about stewardship than it is about style. “The sooner that churches learn about the seat capacity and traffic flow benefits of the theater seat, the sooner they make the shift away from conventional pews.”

Ogden says that this represents a seating revolution that crosses all evangelical groups and denominations, including some of the most traditional churches. He notes a few well known, older generation pastors including Dr. David Jeremiah of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., Dr. Ed Young with Second Baptist in Houston, and Dr. Charles Stanley of First Baptist Atlanta, who are among the many traditional churches that have removed pews from their current worship space in favor of theater-style seats.

“Many of these churches are also utilizing existing spaces, such as a fellowship hall, as a simulcast venue to accommodate the growing need for added seat capacity. These spaces are usually outfitted with stackable chairs that can be moved to allow the space to accommodate other functions during the week”, says Ogden. Series recommends high density stackers that stack 25 high or more, requiring less storage space than the typical church stacker that stacks about eight high.

Souping up Grandma’s Pew

While younger churches are thinking enthusiastically to make things better, that doesn’t always match up with tradition, says Larry Mitchell, principal of Church Connect based in Boise, Idaho. One way that Mitchell has been able to cater to the pew-loving crowd is by inventing a pew with a coffee cup holder.

“Progressive churches go all the way to theater seating. Non-traditional also, if they can’t afford theater seats, will do stacks. But traditional churches are sticking to pews, with some exceptions,” says Mitchell.

Whether it’s coffee cup holders on traditional pews, or theater-style stadium seating or stackable chairs—or even building a new building—there is another important reason for churches to change accommodations: membership growth. “Take and put in new chairs and you’ll realize an 8%-10% growth. Remodel and you’ll see 12%. If you build a new building you get between 14%-16%,” says Mitchell.

The cost is roughly as following: Mid-range priced stackable chairs with three inches of foam in the seating cost about $40 a piece; 21-inch theater chairs range from $120, or about $170 per foot; and pews run about $70 per foot.

And as stadium seating has evolved and found its place in worship facilities, so have the risers this type of seating rests upon, says Frank Moson, president and CEO of Stadium Seating Enterprises Inc., based in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Today, PREFoam Stadium Seating Riser Systems are replacing traditional steel and concrete stadium riser solutions because the PREFoam Solution is typically more economical and faster to install. The foam takes 20% of the time to install compared with filling steel pans in traditional framing with concrete, and results in a cost savings of 10%-15%. It’s a pre-engineered structure that is delivered to the jobsite for installation by the local general contractor.

“The life of it is forever,” cautions Moson. “That’s the good news and the bad news. However, it is a green source material and the product we use is manufactured using partially recycled material—and it is itself recyclable.”

Stack It

Bruce Prock, vice president of sales and marketing for Bertolini Inc., a manufacturer of stackable church chairs, pew chairs and sanctuary seating, based in Chino, Calif., maintains that stackable chairs are nothing new but a trend that has been unfolding over the past 30 years. Bertolini is 50 years old and is to church chairs what the Aeron brand is to office chairs.

“It’s easy to build a chair,” says Prock. “You put a couple of pieces of wood on a frame add foam and cover it, and you’ve got a chair. We don’t build them that way. We do research and development. Our top selling chair doesn’t have any wood in it. Ours are more durable, lighter and more comfortable than most.”

Bertolini’s top-selling chair, the Impressions 7025, features a flow-molded seat with flex built in to provide greater comfort and extend the life of the foam. The cost ranges from the high $40s to the high $50s and comes with a 25-year guarantee.

The majority of the chairs that Bertolini sells, or 90%, are custom-ordered and used for a sanctuary or multi-purpose space.

“The other portion is for fellowship halls, and those are not the typical 20-inch-wide comfy cushy pew stackers,” says Prock. “It’s more of a banquet-style chair.”

As for changes in the color of the fabric options to cover the chairs, Prock says for the past 10 years the preference has been conservative, toward a basic tweed-looking Olefin fabric in 100 different colors. Interestingly for churches, the latest trend in fabric is a pattern that has small crosses woven into the design.

In addition to fabric choices, the options for the chairs are seemingly endless. Churches can specify if they want their chairs to feature a book pouch, card pockets, communion cup holders, book rack, space saver seat, pew end, clear guides or interlocks.

Seating and Flooring, from a Design Perspective

Indeed, stackable chairs have improved and so has their manufacturing technology. Interior designers like Danae Ledgerwood with Visioneering Studios, based in Irvine, Calif., especially like improvement in how today’s stackable furniture can be stored, their lighter weight and mobility. “We’ve been leaning toward light-frame polypropylene seating that you can stack 40-50 high on its own contained dolly, so that you don’t have to have oversized storage areas to put these chairs in,” says Ledgerwood.

Movable chairs mean the space can be used for multiple purposes such as fellowship or banquet halls. The additional space saved from storage can also be repurposed.

“That’s been a consistent request from facilities that are looking for a lot of flexibility in this area,” says Ledgerwood. “They’re moving these things around sometimes on a daily basis.”

But flexibility is only one piece of the puzzle. In fellowship space, making visitors feel comfortable—both physically and socially—requires recreating environments that are not intimidating or institutional in feel. Hence, Ledgerwood uses a lot of upholstered lounge furniture in her designs. “That creates an environment inside the church that will welcome people to be there not just on Sundays but seven days a week. Whether it’s for a young mothers’ meeting or ministry meeting, we want to create environments through the furniture that makes the space very accessible.”

The flooring complements the warmth and practicality of Ledgerwood’s design. “Our approach to flooring is about sustainability, flexibility and maintenance.” That translates into stained concrete, which saves on carpet; carpet tiles, which are easy to install and allow a church to replace one tile vs. the whole carpet in the event of a stain; and vinyl tile flooring that has a long life cycle.

Architect David Dial, president of Living Stones Architecture in Charlotte, N.C., agrees that church furnishing and flooring has become more casual. “What fits your churches idea of comfort and hospitality? Is it a living room?” he asks.

More contemporary churches go so far as to create meeting places that could compete with a Starbucks, he says—spaces where people gather after hours. “At one church we literally designed it to look like a night club with little niches where people can sit and talk,” Dial explains. “This is something people at a church want, too.”

While Dial is not a fan of stained concrete—it stains easily and gets slick when muddy, he says—he does like the luxury vinyl tiles with wood or stone grain that come at a comparable price. The tile has a warmer feeling and better acoustic properties. And while bamboo floors are hard and appropriate for public areas, the aesthetics of the material seem to work best in modern churches. “If it’s a traditional sanctuary, the narrow strips don’t really fit well. They’re looking for the three-, four-, five-inch-wide plank look.”

Whatever churches choose in place of building anew—whether to update their looks with new flooring or to make visitors more comfortable with casual seating, or to just make way for a growing congregation by stackable chairs or stadium seating—the outcome may be better stewardship.

“Like Shadow Mountain, many churches were tolerating outdated audio-visual and lighting systems, not wanting to put money into an old building if a new one was near at hand. An economy, short on promise, has had a freeing affect on these churches,” Ogden explains. “Many are now moving in deliberate and creative ways to update and optimize the use of current spaces at a fraction of the budget planned for new construction.”