Phil Lum This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. United Church News: Jan/Feb 2004

   www.ucc.org/ucnews/feb04/acros - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/28/2003   Last Visited: 7/9/2006

   Phil Lum is an architect, but sometimes he feels like his work takes on the form of ministry. A member of Immanuel UCC in the Ferguson neighborhood of St. Louis, he has spent the last 21 years working for Mankse Architects, an architectural firm that specializes in church design.
   
   Fifteen years ago, when the late Rev. Robert L. Burt (see article on p. A15) began the UCC Architects Fellowship, Phil Lum joined. "One thing the Architects Fellowship showed us," says Lum, "is how many old buildings we have [in the UCC]." Lum says a majority of his projects are not designing new structures, but modifying the old ones, opening up constrictive spaces and working to simplify confusing or dysfunctional "circulation space."
   
   In the case of Parkway UCC in Town and Country, Mo., Lum designed a sanctuary to replace the original built in 1870. At the time of original construction, the sanctuary was built across a small dirt road from the church school wing and the fellowship hall. A four-lane highway replaced the quiet road, making the two halves of the facility impractical. Lum incorporated the style and look of the old sanctuary into the new design. No longer across the street from the rest of the facility, the new sanctuary opened in 1999.
   
   Lum says that when the architect is aware of the overall plan of the church's mission, then he or she can do a better job of designing something that's practical and spiritual. "In commercial architecture, they say, 'I want a warehouse. I want a store.' They know how many employees, how many square feet, how many parking spots," says Lum. "Churches rarely have a program. They have a wish list, but it's everything under the sun and more, because usually they have an inadequate building facility and property."
   
   Lum finds more churches are asking the architect to respond to a mission need, such as building a daycare or a specific space for outreach. Lum finds the results of those projects most satisfying. "That's where it has become more like a ministry," he says, "than regular architectural practice."