Form or Function?
Here’s an interesting question: Which is more important, the décor of the room (form) or the purpose (function)? It’s a bit of a trick question, because both are important. We’re wrestling with this right now as a committee.
Here’s what happens with church buildings: At some point, both form and function are in harmony. First Trinity went through this process back in 1996 and 2000 when the lobby was expanded and then the gym was added. The form reflected (and enhanced) the function of the room. During the last building campaign, the committee worked to align form and function.
Over time, however, programming (function) changes as the church grows. The longer it goes without being addressed, the farther apart form and function drift. If you’ve been here a while, you can look around and see furniture or rooms that had one purpose in 2000, but are serving a different one now.
So here are the two key questions we’re dealing with as we consider renovation projects and form/function:
- How do form and function interact with each other? It seems to make sense that the program people express the needs for a particular area and the design people find the right furniture and look to accomplish the purpose.
- How do we minimize drift? The building committee will disband one day. Who works to keep form and function in harmony? Is it an aesthetics committee or something else?
What do you think? What other issues should we be considering?
July 16th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Interesting questions! In terms of form and function interacting, it seesm that function defines form more often than form defining function. i.e. – you decorate the dining room with a table and chairs and maybe a china cabinet because that’s where you eat your meals. You could do it the other way around, but most people decided where they are going to eat, call it the dining room, then decorate.
So…the decor is typically a result of the function of the room as I see it.
How do you minimize drift?
I think one way is to do what you’ve already been doing: make a list of all the possible uses of the space, even the less-likely ones. Then, prioritize the list according to how well it fits our mission and vision for ministry – both now, and 5, 10, or maybe more years out! You can then use that list to build in, or at least allow for, changes (“drift”) in the decor of the room as ministries (functions) grow and change.
You would also want to note which ministries our likely to be lasting and which may fade in time. Take the basement: We will always have a youth ministry in some form (the primary use). However, the idea of a coffeehouse for worship and other events is one that can come and then fade after several years. So, when planning for the worship service, include an “exit strategy” -jump ahead 5-10 years and say “what happens when we are finished with this?”
It seems to me the key is not the immediate needs of the room building, but rather attempting to predict the future needs and allowing for them.
July 18th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Thanks for your comments Eric. These are the same types of conclusions we are reaching during our discussions on the Renovations Committee. Trying to determine a space’s current funtion, while looking forward 5-10 years to minimize the drift. Your analogy of the dining room decorating is especially helpful.