Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - Countertop, Chair, BeamUnitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - Image 3 of 36Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - ChairUnitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - Image 5 of 36Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - More Images+ 31

  • Architects: El Dorado: el dorado inc
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  4000
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2008
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Mike Sinclair 

Text description provided by the architects. The Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence is located on a rural site about 10 miles south of Lawrence, Kansas. For years, the Fellowship held services within an existing 1880’s one-room schoolhouse. In the late 1960’s, the church added a classroom wing, which allowed the Fellowship continued growth. During the summer of 2006, the church elected to construct a new entry lobby and sanctuary large enough for 150 members, with a committee-based design process.

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - Image 5 of 36
© Mike Sinclair 

The grounds proved to be the guiding force for the new sanctuary design. Century-old hedge trees line the south and west edges of the site. Their high canopies provide strategic summer shading while also framing generous views of pastures to the south. The new sanctuary structure, intimately nestled between the hedgerows and the historic schoolhouse structure, offers a site-sensitive response to scale, materiality, shelter, and expanse. The horizontal line, a poetic reference to the surrounding Kansas landscape, is utilized throughout the new architecture and underscores a Unitarian approach to spirituality rooted in Humanism and respect for the natural world.

Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado - Image 3 of 36
© Mike Sinclair 

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Project location

Address:Lawrence, KS, USA

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence / El Dorado" 28 Dec 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/99047/unitarian-fellowship-of-lawrence-el-dorado> ISSN 0719-8884

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