The Church of St. Edward the Confessor
Project Description
David B. Meleca was chosen by St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church to design a new church seeking to expand seating from 300 to 900. Working with a relatively restrictive budget, Meleca designed a new 14,500 sq. ft. worship space and renovated the existing church, reinventing it as the Narthex of the new complex.
The new cruciform church design seats 900. The new Narthex is accessed from the east via a Classical entrance portico, which was designed to straddle the old church and connect with the new structure. It is topped with a cupola. An auxiliary entrance was also added to the south side of the Narthex. In the interior of the Narthex, the wood ceiling and timbers of the original church are still visible, creating a sense of continuity which was important to parishioners. With the old church incorporated into the new design, a generous gathering space with baptismal font under a cupola was created.
David B. Meleca completed this project prior to joining Moody Nolan as the Director of Classical Design.
Project Stats
Year Completed
2004
Square Footage
14,500
Project Gallery
Design Features
The interior includes original murals painted by a local artist, a choir loft with pipe organ, side chapels and a perpetual adoration chapel. The exterior features brick arches and quoins, limestone caps and a rusticated limestone base. The final design of St. Edward the Confessor was realized in a metal-stud construction with a brick veneer, which is one of the least expensive ways to handle such a large facility. The grand scale and restrained traditional design fit well within the quaint college town of Granville. The new Church of St. Edward the Confessor was dedicated in September of 2004.