St. John’s Episcopal Church was originally constructed in 1957 to serve over 400 families in the active Trinity Parish community in Tulsa, OK. Forward sixty years later, the vibrant Episcopal sanctuary serves more than 900 members. To make the facility more comfortable and enjoyable for their growing needs, several areas of the three-level facility needed to be remodeled or expanded. The main commons area and lower levels were remodeled and served as youth and classroom areas. Expanded areas included a new illuminated courtyard and restroom facilities.
The purpose of our project was to make the facility more enjoyable and to better suit their growing needs. The commons area is their primary gathering location for indoor events and the new courtyard now serves as their primary outdoor location.
Several areas of the three-level facility were remodeled and expanded. The main commons area, as well as the lower level which serves as the youth area and classrooms, were updated and remodeled. The expanded area consists of a new illuminated courtyard and restrooms.
MPW Engineering provides expertise in intelligently evaluating the unique needs of every client and every type of facility, working closely with architects, owners, and end-users to envision an efficient and comfortable space that meets the functional requirements while preserving aesthetics. No two projects are the same. There were several design obstacles due to unfavorable existing conditions. The building had to be closely evaluated and a design established to produce the desired final product without escalating project cost.
A challenge for any non-prototypical project is providing a lighting package that is pleasing to all parties. The key to this project was understanding the client’s final goals and the existing conditions to work with. Since the building was increasing its electrical requirements, the careful evaluation had to be done of the existing load on the distribution system and load only added where appropriate. MPW provided the initial electrical scope and evaluation, attended design meetings for collaboration, communicated the electrical design and CAD techs, coordinated between disciplines, reviewed and signed all electrical documents, and provided several site visits during the construction process.