Old Pews Transformed in Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church Renovation
Re-purposing of Pews Makes a Strong Design Statement for a North Ballard Church
Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church recently completed a $3.7 million renovation of their 75 year old church facilities in north Ballard. The old stained oak pews were salvaged and repurposed to enhance the new design.
The salvaged pew material was inspected, measured, and cataloged. While the pews looked similar, there were subtle but important differences in how they were constructed and how the wood could be reused. For example, some of the seats were contoured and some were flat. The contoured seats were veneer glued to a pine core and they had to be cut and prepared differently than the larger flat pieces of solid oak.
After cutting, planing, sanding, and sealing, the wood was repurposed for use in the sanctuary, flanking the Chancel on each side, extending into the Chapel, and used to clad the south wall and extend north into a meeting room. Other areas in the building that used the pew seats, seat backs, pew ends, and hymnal holders were the wall enclosing the church offices, the church mail box, and a design element composed of 32 floor-to-ceiling vertical pieces of 4-inch oak, randomly placed to evoke a grove of trees.
Our Redeemer’s 14,000 SF renovation included the demolition of an existing two-story library building, seismic upgrades to the existing building, the interior renovation of sanctuary, chapel, administration, narthex, and basement restrooms. ADA upgrades provide on-grade access to the basement and full access within the sanctuary. The project was partially funded by the sale of a neighboring property that was purchased by Ballard P-Patch to retain its use as a community garden.
Our Redeemer’s is a growing community hub for worship, social justice, the arts, education, and sharing hope. The renovated church better serves a vibrant congregation and community organizations who are able to use the church’s multi-purpose spiritual, meeting, and performance spaces.
The re-opening of the church is Sunday, September 12. The church dedication is at 10:15am, between services. There is a welcoming celebration and open house for the community at 4:00pm that day.
In the model of Christ and for the life of the world, Our Redeemer’s is an inclusive, devoted, caring and spiritual community that accepts challenges, takes risks and grows.
More information: https://ourredeemers.net/about/build-the-vision/
