Saint Benedict Parish

Client:
Harvey & Mackenzie Architects Ltd.
Year Completed:
2010

Completed in 2010, St. Benedict’s Catholic Church now serves as the stunning new home for the merged congregations of the former parishes of St. Lawrence, St. Pius X, and Our Lady of Perpetual Hope. This two-level, 32,000 square foot facility includes a 700-seat nave & sanctuary, Eucharist chapel, gathering space, coffee bar, large church hall & stage, office space, meeting space, lounge, and full kitchen & serving space. Both the upper and lower level designs include large, open concept spaces for large gatherings and unobstructed views of the sanctuary and stage.

The church structure is composed of structural steel frames and trusses enclosed with highly durable reinforced concrete tilt-up wall panels. To economize the main level, BMR designed the Nave and Sanctuary floor to include composite action between the concrete floor slab and supporting structural steel floor beams. Long-span structural steel trusses were incorporated into the roof structure to provide the required open concept design in the Nave and Sanctuary, which included intermediate glulam purlins to create the roof diaphragm. The challenging geometry of the building required careful coordination by the team at BMR between the structural steel floor and roof frames and the perimeter concrete wall panels, which were fabricated and erected ahead of the steel as part of the tilt-up concrete process.


Key Points

  • Challenging exterior wall envelope constructed using durable concrete tilt panels
  • Long clear-spans on main level accomplished with structural steel trusses
  • Large clerestory above Sanctuary incorporated into structural steel roof frame
  • Free-standing structural steel bell tower included outside building
  • Combination of structural steel building frame, concrete tilt panels, and glulam roof diaphragm required meticulous detailing and coordination