First Look Inside St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church

Video taken during a prayer burial ceremony where parish prayers were placed in a wooden cross box to be buried under new church alter, gives first look inside the 1400 seat church .  Dedication scheduled for June 2011.

St. Paul's Cupola

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Westerville, Ohio

Construction update for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church.   Below are interior photos of progress in the cupola.

 

The 1500 seat church will be dedicated June 2011. 

Arena District selected for The Harrison Smith Award

191 W. Nationwide Blvd., Arena District

Meleca Architecture, a member of the Arena District design team, was named as one of two inaugural winners of The Harrison Smith Award for designing the office building at 191 W. Nationwide Blvd.


Created by the Downtown Commission, the award recognizes projects that positively impact the urban environment and reflect past chairman, Harrison Smith's ideals. 


View from Arch Park

 The Meleca designed building is a 128,500 sq ft office structure which features restaurants on the first floor.  Inspired by 19th century urban office buildings, it comprises brick with stone accents, a corner turret, large arched windows with panels and ornate canopies.  The architecture combines classical proportions and details with current materials.



Entry detail



Terrace detail



Facade detail



The Catholic Foundation Wins Aesthetic Design Award



257 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio

 We are proud to announce The Catholic Foundation has won the Discovery Special Improvements District (SID) award for Outstanding Aesthetic Contribution for 2010.  The new foundation headquarters, designed by Meleca Architecture, is the former home to the original Wendy's restaurant, also known as "Wendy's #1".  

The redesign kept the original Wendy's structure intact - thus promoting historic preservation while adding texture to the urban landscape.

The Discovery SID, encompassing a 37 square block area on the east side of downtown Columbus, Ohio, is a private sector corporation that was created in 2007 by property owners who wanted to improve the safety and image of the Discovery District neighborhood.

St. Paul's Interior Architecture

We are in the final weeks of exterior construction on St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville, Ohio.  

As winter months settle in, the focus will be on interior construction and finishes.  Much thought and meaning goes into interior architecture and material selection for a church, as liturgical architecture can enhance ones religious experience through the narration of religious stories interpreted in the form and ornamentation of a building.

Dr. Denis McNamara, in his book Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy, offers tremendous insight on how liturgical art and architecture should reflect heaven and earth united. 

He writes-
"Liturgical art and architecture are about the conveying of information about God and humanity's relationship to him in the sacred liturgy.  Central to this relationship is God's sharing of his divine life with his creation, and so liturgical architecture works as the image of heavenly realities: all is glorified, all is restored, all is radiant with grace.  Styles, movements, and fads in architecture are relevant only to the degree that the theological content which they express is made clear."

Through Dr. McNamara's teaching, we understand and believe interior architecture should reflect "not nature as it exists today, in its fallen condition, but nature as it will exist at the end of time - when it's completely restored and glorified." 

Based on this belief, below are some of the custom interior designs which symbolize the man the church was named after - St. Paul the Apostle. 

This is a mock-up of the large and small custom column capitals which will be used throughout the church.  The sword found in the capital is a symbol of St. Paul taking his faith around the world and conquering ignorance.  The book symbolizes St. Paul as a great author of biblical letters.  





Below is the custom pew end design including a tripartite window motif, which is a holy trinity symbol. 

This is the mock-up of the custom church pew end.

 

The above ceiling design represents that even creation will be glorified at the end of time.  The stars are not portrayed as timid, but rather most radiant and glorious.  The orderly geometric pattern of the stars speaks of their glorification and represents proportion and order.

 

A 3D rendering of what the interior will look like upon completion.

 

 

St Paul's Westerville, Ohio construction video

Construction video of St. Paul the Apostle, Westerville, Ohio.  The 1400 seat Catholic church designed by Meleca Architecture is scheduled for dedication June 2011.

Bensi Ristorante Italiano Wins 2010 Best Interior Design Award

Meleca Architecture has won Best Interior Design for 2010 in the Hampton Road Association for Commercial Real Estates (HRACRE) Excellence in Development Design Awards for Bensi Ristorante Italiano.  This is the major design and development award ceremony for the Hampton Roads region including areas such as, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, and Williamsburg.

Bensi opened this past Spring in the Peninsula Town Center in Hampton, Virginia, developed by Steiner + Associates.  The 180-seat restaurant design theme is Italian Modern - which means modern forms with traditional detailing.   

St Paul's YouTube Video

Bravo Lennox Town Center

An update to an earlier post....On the Boards. Below are photos taken today of the Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurant going in at the former site of Baja Sol Lennox Town Center.



Before construction



Meleca Architecture design




Current construction



The restaurant is on target for end-of-year opening.

St. Paul's Status

Latest job site photo's from St. Paul's in Westerville, Ohio.  The crew is on target to have the exterior completed by November so Winter months can be spent working on the interior. 

Office History

Since our work constantly focuses on creating a sense of place, I thought I'd feature our place, the Meleca office. 



144 E. State Street, Columbus, Ohio

According to the Franklin County Auditor's site, in 1923, the building was owned by Columbus attorney Rutherford H. Platt who owned extensive real estate throughout Columbus. 



Rutherford H. Platt





144 E State Street on far left



Platt's mother was sister to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes.  The auditor site indicates Platt heirs owned the building until the year 2000.

The date of the above photo is unknown and our search for more have been unsuccessful.   This view is looking northwest from the intersection of E. State and 4th Street.  If you look closely, you can see awnings on the front windows.  We hope to replicate one day.

We purchased the downtown office building four years ago.  After a year of extensive renovations - we moved in. 



Entry before





Entry after



We kept as much of the original structure as we could.  And our traditional style is expressed throughout.  

Lobby before

Lobby after



Board Room



Library



Agora looking into Drafting Room



Drafting Room before



Drafting Room after

The drafting room features original wood rafters and an exposed steel truss which was discovered during demolition.  Skylight was added during construction.