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The design of a recently completed church in Bend reflects the natural environment — inside and out.

Lead designer Corey Martin of Portland-based THA Architecture said the congregation at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon is very tuned into the volcanic landscape of central Oregon which influenced the design.

鈥淲e looked at the natural processes of erosion in Central Oregon where there really are new eruptions you can see and the process of change going on right before your eyes,鈥� he said.

Parts of the building are designed to seem like it is going through erosion or change, he said, and the building itself suggests a giant tree or log in a forest.

The $9 million, 20,000-square-foot project includes a 250-seat sanctuary, kitchen, meeting rooms, classrooms and a fellowship hall.

鈥淭he whole thing is designed to have continuity and they can open up the whole south side through telescoping sliding doors,鈥� he said.

The building is also energy efficient and designed to maximize potential for heating with the sun, he said.

鈥淚n the winter, when the sun is low, it hits big thermal mass walls and heats them up,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd in the summer, when the sun is high, the building has a deep overhang that shades the whole building.鈥�

General contractor for the project was Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co. of Bend with landscape architecture by Walker Macy Landscape Architecture. PAE Consulting Engineers of Portland was in charge of electrical and mechanical engineering.

Striking components of the design include two sliding interior doors, 10 feet wide and 20 feet high. The doors are meant to reflect the columnar basalt cliffs that are abundant in the region, said Martin, who also has a background in sculpture and furniture making.

鈥淪ometimes you can see when the cliffs were first created under high temperature, they didn’t grow straight and it looks like the columns have been bent,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o the doors were inspired by the columnar basalt cliffs, but more abstracted.鈥�

The doors were rough milled based on a computer model, he said, and then hand-worked and chiseled to get the final result.

Work on the new church at 61980 Skyline Ranch Rd. was completed about two months ago.

鈥淭he important thing about the project was a real attempt to design something that was really fit for that area,鈥� Martin said, 鈥渁 beautiful and amazing place where people appreciate their landscape.鈥�