Building Design Guidelines - Rules of Thumb for Education, Recreation, Offices, & Sanctuary Areas

By Jeffery M. Seeley, Architect

Note:  While these guidelines are presented for general information, they do not replace the
experience of a professional specializing in the design of church facilities.

GENERAL:
A building should have about 40 square feet per person for all building spaces.   This is for all building services.  However, this number will differ because of worship style and church functions offered to the congregation.  See the following for a more detailed breakdown.

EDUCATION:
A classroom for Preschoolers should be 35 square feet per child.  If the classroom is also for weekly daycare, it should be at least 500 square feet in size.  This accommodates 14 children, the point where a third teacher would be required for the classroom.

Each grade schooler should have 25 square feet per child.  Many times a larger classroom for daycare can be split into two of these classrooms with an operable partition.

Each middle / high schooler should have 15 square feet per person.  It is also good to have a room for group assembly.  This room may also serve as a small recreational area.

Adult education should be 12 square feet per person.  Again, operable partitions can be used to allow a greater versatility of the meeting room sizes.  We recommend a minimum room size of 200 square feet, or 16 adults.

RECREATION:
Junior high basketball courts and support spaces require 5,000 to 7,500 square feet.  High school basketball courts need between 6,200 and 8,800 square feet for the court and support spaces.  Basketball requires a minimum ceiling height of 22 feet.

Smaller assembly areas need from 15 to 20 square feet per person.  All rooms with more than 50 people require two remote exits.  When the capacity reaches 300,  three or more exits are required.   Building codes calculate occupancy at 7 square feet per person.  However, rarely does real occupancy reach half of code capacity.

OFFICES / SUPPORT AREAS:
A pastors office should be 250 square feet minimum.  It should also have an adjacent study and if possible, an exit directly to the outside.

Staff offices should be 150 to 200 square feet each.  While it is common to use an open plan with offices and workroom in a large area, the financial secretary should have a lockable office.  Try to accommodate one more office than is needed at the present time, to allow for future staff.

Choir practice areas should be 15 square feet per person.  The practice room should match the size and arrangement of the sanctuary choir as much as possible.  Music support spaces such as robing and music storage should be another 6 square feet per person.

A Library should be 2 square feet per person of the sanctuary capacity.

Fellowship Hall should hold half the capacity of the Sanctuary and one person per 15 square feet for dining at round tables.  The Kitchen should be about 3 square feet per person in the fellowship hall.

Mechanical / Restrooms / and corridors are 20 to 30 percent of the building space, after all spaces are accounted for.

SANCTUARY:

A minimum of 15 square feet per person for compact seating arrangements.  It may be lower in large sanctuaries and higher in smaller sanctuaries.

Pulpit should be a 8' minimum depth from the first choir row.  However 12' or more will allow a greater flexibility in worship styles.  Many churches are now eliminating the old style modesty screens to allow for maximum flexibility of the pulpit area.

Choir should hold 10 percent of the capacity of the main seating area, with rows that are 3' deep.  A larger percentage may be needed in churches with large choir participation.  15 square feet per instrument should be allowed, larger for the piano. Walls and floors should be hard surfaces to assist in reflecting sound.

Pew spacing is 36 inches minimum from back to back.  Pews should not exceed 21 feet in length.  Chair spacing is 22 inches in width and 36 inches from back to back.  Rows with more than 15 chairs should be avoided.  Aisles should be at least 6 feet wide in the centers and 3 feet 6 inches wide on the sides.  Codes may require wider aisles based on capacity and length of travel to exits.

Vestibules should be 2 square feet per seat in the sanctuary.  The vestibule should not be made too small since it is the main point of weekly fellowship for many of the congregation.  Consider it a gathering space.
Steeples should be at least as high above the roof as is the distance from the roof peak to the ground.