The Butterfly | 178.6m | 57Fl | U/C

[VantageHD]

Wow, that is just terrible. Would be curious to know what the original church looked like, because that rendering is pathetic.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

Wow, that is just terrible. Would be curious to know what the original church looked like, because that rendering is pathetic.

It was nothing to write home about



https://amberhughes.ca/2014/08/19/pe...dding-preview/

All modern churches look like Apple stores



https://www.archdaily.com/385013/the...-church-design

[s211]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

Wow, that is just terrible. Would be curious to know what the original church looked like, because that rendering is pathetic.

Pretty sure that rendering is not of the main sanctuary. I believe it is for the adjacent church hall that fronts on Burrard?

[GenWhy?]

Very odd they didn't remove that "stone" wall addition and replace it with something that wasn't a bad imitation of the original.

Thanks for the new interior church image it looks great! Agreed I've been in the original version in many cities across the country. Very standard painted plaster.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by s211

Pretty sure that rendering is not of the main sanctuary. I believe it is for the adjacent church hall that fronts on Burrard?

Yeah it was tagged Pinder Hall

The main sanctuary (?)



https://www.facebook.com/firstbaptis...47731101989637

[officedweller]

The ceiling here looks much better than the residential loft wanna-be.
The removal of the ceiling could be due to acoustics - assuming they have been thorough and it's not just a "design" choice.
The old pews have character and style and have 4 tiers versus 2 tiers after the reno (maybe due to accessibility?).
The new benches (none of them are curved around the corners) look like plywood versions from a pop-up internet cafe.

Originally Posted by jollyburger

It was nothing to write home about



https://amberhughes.ca/2014/08/19/pe...dding-preview/

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://www.urbanyvr.com/first-bapti...ch-renovation/

[VantageHD]

I'm not opposed to modern churches, I actually quite like them. I just thought this existing church would have better bones to go off of. That rendering looks very unappealing for an existing church. Almost like they ruined it instead of improving it.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

... That rendering looks very unappealing for an existing church. Almost like they ruined it instead of improving it.

It sort of harks back to 1950/60s "modernization" of heritage buildings.

[Klazu]

Yikes. The new church indeed looks like an Apple Store. Very cold and impersonable compared to the warmer tones of the old one. There are many examples of nice-looking modern churches but this ain't one.

[s211]

Once again, I think there's confusion about what's being compared here. I can't find it on the web right now, but I'm pretty sure the rendering that's being shared here is not the renovated sanctuary, but is instead the adjacent renovated Pinder Hall, that was mentioned just a few posts prior. The scale is measurably different. As I seem to recall reading elsewhere, an intermediary floor was added to the hall some time ago, and in the renovation the intermediary floor is being removed to open up the hall again, hence the rendering showing an upper balcony.

As to a rendering of what the main sanctuary will look like, I'm guessing that is out there somewhere but I can't find it on the web at the moment. I'm guessing there's a big rezoning package somewhere that would have that info?

[officedweller]

You can tell that both the before and after shots above are not of the main sanctuary, because the pic of the main sanctuary posted by Jollyburger does not have a balcony.

One the plans of the project posted way back, there were only 2 assembly halls, so the before and after pics must be of the same space, if not the main sanctuary.

EDIT:
Found the plans which show rounded corner pews being retained in the main sanctuary.

So s211 is correct in that the before shot above is the main sanctuary, whereas the after is of the second assembly hall (Pinder Hall). The bulkhead in the left back corner of the rendering also conforms with the plan. What we don't have is a 'before' pic of Pinder Hall (which may not be recent if it was renovated to fill in the old balcony). The ceiling of the renovated Pinder Hall still leaves a lot to be desired.

So it also seems that the pic Jollyburger posted is not of the main sanctuary of First Baptist, despite being from the First Baptist website(?) - ie no balcony and the ceiling is different than the 'before' pic of the main sanctuary.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Floorplans from:

http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/...rard/index.htm

Floorplans from Ground Level and up.

There is a lot of space for the church.

[jollyburger]

Here's a video with photos of the church restoration

https://www.firstbc.org/hftc-update/...cember-1-2021/

Here's the main sanctuary

[Klazu]

Never did I realise that he building is large enough to have two halls. Thanks for photos but I still maintain that the renovation will have the two spaces now clash style wise, whereas previously they were very similar.

I wonder how the church across Nelson Street looks like in comparison?

[jollyburger]

It seems they'll adopt the white concrete facade of The Butterfly. But it'll be interesting to see more detailed renderings.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I wonder how the church across Nelson Street looks like in comparison?

I think post 805 shows the church across the street.

[mcminsen]

Dec.6 '21, my pic

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by s211

I think post 805 shows the church across the street.

Pretty sure it's the main sanctuary for the Butterfly church.

[s211]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Pretty sure it's the main sanctuary for the Butterfly church.

Post # 805 is a photo of the existing church across the street from First Baptist.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by s211

Post # 805 is a photo of the existing church across the street from First Baptist.

It's called St Andrew's Wesley, and it just completed its own major seismic upgrade, and has a new roof. It has a peaked chancel, while First Baptist has a flat ceiling that was installed in the early 1930s after the church interior was destroyed in a fire. Charles Bentall's Dominion Construction rebuilt First Baptist; he had been superintendent of the Sunday School there, and worshipped there throughout his life. The light fixtures are the easiest way to identify the church.

First Baptist are holding their services in St Andrew's while their own church is being given the seismic upgrade.

It's odd, but as officedweller noted, there don't seem to be any images of Pinder Hall, the smaller space closer to Burrard. That looks to be what the redesign image shows. The roof in the picture is probably original, possible with some additional seismic bracing. The light colour scheme reminds me of the interior of Scandinavian churches - it could easily be in Finland.

[jollyburger]

Here's the layout of the church:

https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/969-b...x-d-part-2.pdf