St. Martin de Porres Parish is celebrating its’ 50th anniversary in 2018. The existing Church building opened in 1974 and won accolades from the Ontario Association of Architects for its’ innovative Douglas Fir glue-lam beam roof structure. Unfortunately, this building suffered from moisture infiltration and subsequent fixes only exacerbated the problems. These problems along with an evolving parish community necessitated a full renovation and redesign.
L+C came up with an innovative idea to rotate the orientation of the congregation toward the existing windows, bringing the people closer to the Altar. We celebrated the diamond ceiling by stripping the beams to the natural wood, punctuating a few with natural light skylights, and lightening the ceiling with a light blue accent along beam lines. New wood features and finishes throughout complement the modern architecture.
Photography: Andrew Waller Photography