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When it came time to expand and renovate Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Oswego, the leaders of the church found themselves in a quandary.

In order to tackle the work, the church needed to raise money, a task always made easier with a solid plan to show possible donors. But drawing up plans can be tough when the actual amount of money that will be available is unknown.

To find a workable solution, the church turned to DiLoreto Architecture. The Portland-based firm has earned a reputation 鈥� and a long list of design awards 鈥� for its expertise helping churches create new spaces and reinvent existing ones.

The DiLoreto team, led by project manager Stephanie Fitzhugh, started by sitting down with church leaders to compile an overall plan that represented a large-scale wish list of sorts. A series of workshops with parishioners helped further define core goals and values 鈥� from providing spaces that would better foster a sense of community to welcoming those who were new arrivals or first-time visitors.

With those lists in hand, the DiLoreto team went to work.

Because the church had gained additions over the years, the existing building was a jumble of spaces that were awkward or ineffective. Church leaders and parishioners pointed out that an existing social hall, for example, had a kitchen that was too small. A bulky elevator shaft nearby added to the claustrophobic feel.

Meanwhile, a connection between the church and the social hall 鈥� what DiLoreto describes on its website as a 鈥渇our-foot-wide stairway-in-a-tube鈥� 鈥� created a bottleneck as parishioners left church after services.

In order to eliminate confined areas and accommodate the church’s growing parish, Fitzhugh and her team replaced the stairs and elevator with a glass-enclosed hallway that runs the entire length of the lower part of the building and serves as a lobby for social areas. Parishioners and visitors will enter from a parking lot area through double doors. They will serve a dual purpose of welcoming visitors from a parking lot area and providing easy, direct access to the narthex.

In order to avoid having the narthex overlook the roof of the lower hallway area, Fitzhugh and her team created a visually attractive green roof.

鈥�(It’s) a very simple solution to an interesting problem,鈥� Fitzhugh said.

The sanctuary area also was redesigned to feature a smaller altar and create a more elegant, intimate arrangement for seating.

Meanwhile, outside the building, a nearby natural hillside will provide the perfect location for installation of an adoration chapel.

From working for many years on church projects, the architecture firm knows there’s no guarantee when money for the entire scope of work –the majority of which will come from donations 鈥� will be available. With that in mind, Fitzhugh said, her team took care to ensure that the overall plan could be broken up into smaller, separate projects without compromising the cohesiveness of the entire campus, which includes a school constructed about 10 years ago.

鈥淲e tried to come up with the best possible solution,鈥� Fitzhugh said. 鈥淭hey need a vision in order for them to start fundraising.鈥�

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91视频 architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or [email protected].