Adaptive Reuse in 1920 Era Church

Historic 1920’s Church

POH+W Architects designed several adaptive reuse schemes for this historic 1920’s church. Cherokee County acquired the church over thirty years ago for use as an Arts Center. In this latest design, the building has been reimagined to host county office functions.

New Glass Pavilion Entrance

This design creates a new welcoming entrance with accessibility to better support this new public function. The new glass pavilion addition serves as both a functional connector and an architectural feature, improving vertical circulation, opening the interior to natural light, and reinforcing the building’s new identity. 

Historic Monumental Stairway

Several schemes were developed with and without the massive, monumental stairs. The expense of replacement of the monumental stair was a major consideration. It was decided that a historical approach favored the ceremonial monumental stairway at the front of the building. The existing exterior monumental staircase had deteriorated beyond all repair options. It was replaced with a new, historically detailed monumental stairway inspired by the original design. The new stair serves as a formal ceremonial entrance to the auditorium. Admittance to this existing auditorium on the second floor can also be accommodated via an accessible direct connection from the new Glass Pavilion entrance and existing elevator.