St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church
Pasadena, California
By Jennifer Walker-Journey

As St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church and School in Pasadena, California, approached its 80th birthday at the turn of this century, the leadership took a serious look at the majestic structures that made up the campus. The years had taken a toll on the buildings, and decades of growth in both the church congregation and school were putting a strain on the facilities.

St. Philip’s last major construction was in 1952, when a new sanctuary was erected. At that time, the original church, built in 1921, was converted to a parish hall.

As growth continued on the land-locked piece of property on which the church sat, other adjustments had to be made over the years, such as closing apartment buildings that at one time housed the sisters and relocating the priest’s rectory.

As the years wore on, the congregation grew to more than 3,000 in numbers, and the sanctuary-turned-parish hall was simply not large enough and beginning to show its age.

“The joke was that termites were holding the building together,” said Casey Jurecki, business manager at St. Philip.

The church’s school, which housed students from kindergarten through eight grade, also was growing. It now poured into two separate buildings on opposite sides of the campus. The campus was not contained, and though the neighborhood is considered a good one, traffic from the neighboring Pasadena City College was raising safety and security concerns.

 “We just had to move on,” Jurecki said. “We needed an elaborate master plan.”

Charles (Chuck) Kluger, principal of Kluger Architects, Inc., based in Signal Hill, California, was brought into the planning process. Just as Kluger began working with the leadership of St. Philip on the master plan, he suffered the loss of a close, personal friend. The friend lived just down the street from St. Philip, and Kluger helped arrange for the funeral to be held at the church. Sitting in the sanctuary during that service, Kluger was struck by the architecture and what it meant to the spirit of the church.

Shortly after the funeral, another member of that family had a baby and held the christening at St. Philip, which Kluger also attended. Kluger used this newly acquired personal connection with St. Philip to inspire him in the master plan, which focused on a new parish hall and school building.

Using the historical original church as the project’s central focus, the new design took elements of the traditional architecture to ensure the new buildings would blend in well and accentuate the church.

He also listened closely to the needs of the church.

“We were an 80-year-old church,” Jurecki said. “We wanted something that would be sustainable for the next 80 years.”

During the design process, the need arose to relocate a much-revered statue of the Virgin Mary, a ceremonial place where parishioners would pray and around which place lighted candles and flowers. Kluger made special care in the plans to preserve and relocate this statue to another place of honor.

The master plan was divided into three distinct phases. The first phase involved constructing a new parish hall. The new building would be a multipurpose area serving the needs of both the church members and the school students. This new parish hall, placed next to the sanctuary, was skewed at a 30-degree angle from the street, creating a plaza where members could gather before and after church.

“It became an integral part of the master plan,” Kluger said.

The second phase focused on the education buildings. It included the renovation of the existing school building and the demolition of the original church building to make room for the construction of a new two-story, L-shaped building, which provided more classrooms and a corridor connecting the buildings. The L-shaped design created a containment area within the campus and provided a secure area for school children to play.

“Now our school is joined together,” Jurecki said. “It’s a much more secure environment.”

Since the renovation, the school has expanded to 12th grade, with two classes of each grade. From the street, the church and school looks contained within its buildings and wrought-iron fencing, but, once inside, the campus opens up and creates a welcoming environment, Kluger said.

The renovation and construction were deemed successful to the church, according to Jurecki.

As the church continues to grow, the church hopes to enter the third phase of the plan, which will include a new administration building.

 “We’re a very active, energetic, and filled parish,” he said. “This has been a good thing for us.”

Kluger Architects, with offices in Signal Hill and Los Angeles, is a full-service architectural firm offering a wide variety of solutions and services, www.klugerarchitects.com.

In a Nutshell

Church: St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church

Location: Pasadena, California
 
Congregation Size: 3,000 members

Project Goal: The 80-year old church wanted to expand and make its on-campus school more secure.  

Size: Phase 1 (parish hall) was 11,000 square feet. Phase 2 (school) was 19,000 square feet for the new building and 14,500 square feet for the renovation.

Challenge: The church grounds were open and didn’t offer much privacy. This also caused a safety and security issue for the school children.

Solution: Developing a master plan that would contain the church on the outside but offer an open and inviting environment on the inside.