The Gathering Church’s new sanctuary in St. Louis, Missouri, is a 26,000-square foot building with a contemporary, modern look that is nothing short of eye-catching. The church utilizes 7,000 square feet of Kingspan’s BENCHMARK Designwall 2000 Architectural Wall Panels in bright colors that allowed for a lot of creative freedom and an overall healthier building.

“Internally they were always that forward-thinking church, so the metal cladding and the contemporary new church is a reflection of what the church always was,” says project manager Kevin Gates from Vessel Architecture & Design.

The panels can be applied horizontally or vertically and provide the utmost thermal efficiency while creating a double barrier against air and water penetration. The panels are also GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means they have been screened for more than 360 VOCs and total chemical emissions to ensure they are not harmful to building occupants and do not negatively impact indoor environmental quality. The complete-envelop system is also a more cost-effective option.

“We actually looked at a wide range of materiality through the conceptual design process,” said Cassandra Wallace, an architect with Vessel. “We looked at some stone and wood - quite a variety of different things - and we kept coming back to metal being the right fit for the building and the expression for the church.”

The staff at The Gathering and the architects at Vessel worked closely to create a design for the new building that was a perfect fit for the non-traditional congregation. The exterior of the church includes 1,923 square feet of panels in Sandstone, 1,057 square feet in Zinc Gray and 1,121 square feet in Taupestone – all Kingspan standard colors; another 2,974 square feet of panels are in Carnival orange, a custom color from Sherwin-Williams. The palette pairs well with The Gathering’s signature orange and white logo. 

“Orange is definitely their major branding color and we wanted to incorporate that somehow with a balance of other colors that were dynamic and went well with the orange,” says Wallace.

Creating a new building also allowed the congregation to tailor the space to meet all their needs, ensure that it has disability access and keep maintenance costs down.

The new $6 million building includes a sanctuary for worship, classrooms and a large lobby for interaction. The new building is being used in addition to the classic 1920s sanctuary the congregation used in the past and holds 600 people; more than double the capacity of the old building.

For The Gathering, the new building is a new way to better serve their mission and is a non-traditional building for its non-traditional congregation.

To learn about premium metal coatings and custom color options from Sherwin-Williams, click here.