Adapting Traditional Plans to Fit a Tight Site

摘要

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is building a new Ward and Stake Meeting House in East Cambridge, Mass., just north of downtown Boston. Normally, a wood-framed structure, the current construction incorporates steel in order to support several significant design modifications. As an international organization, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints uses a prototypical program and appearance for its Meeting Houses. The building program includes a large chapel, a small chapel, a multi-purpose recreation hall, classrooms, and offices. The typical Meeting House is a single-story structure with a gable roof, large steeple, and usually is constructed in rural and suburban settings where parking is provided on-site adjacent to the building. The new Meeting House for East Cambridge is located on a tight site (150 ft by 200 ft) in an urban, light industrial area of greater Boston, and is required to provide the program and parking within the site footprint. To achieve this, the typical Meeting House layout required significant modification.