First Parish Congregational Church

About

Location: Saco, ME
Size: 32,000 sq. ft.
Status: Completed in 2004

In August of 2000 this 1860s church burned to the ground. Context Architecture was hired to design its replacement. The resulting 32,000 sq. ft. facility is both a remembrance of the fallen church and a nod towards the future.

The new church includes a curved sanctuary filled with light that seats 450 people, a balcony, a spacious two-story atrium, and a large fellowship hall. All spaces—for worship, music and performance, fellowship, education, and administration—have been designed to support the congregation’s embrace of a 21st. century church, while still remembering and referencing the gracious building that had stood at the Saco crossroads for the greater part of 140 years.

Photography: Bruce T. Martin

Scope

– Schematic Design
– Design Development
– Construction Documents
– Construction Administration