The Space Utilization Assessment

By Robert C. Foreman, Architect, AIA, LEED AP
 

 

Does your church need a space utilization check-up?  Is your church short of classroom space?  Are you “maxed out” in Sunday Bible Study and children’s classes?  Sometimes church pastors and building committees become convinced they need more education space and feel the only solution is to begin a building expansion program.  However, in many cases, we find these churches have space available they did not know they had.  It is better to make full use of all available space before rushing into a building expansion.  A Space Utilization Assessment, a type of facility check up, is a valuable tool to help determine how best to maximize the space you already have.

In a growing church, lack of educational space, or even the appearance of lack of space, may become a major hindrance to continued growth.  A building expansion can take years to plan, fund, and construct.  If growth is to continue during this time, a church will need to do everything possible to take advantage of all available space.  The Space Utilization Assessment will point out ways to better use existing space by reassigning classrooms based on class attendance patterns.  It can also help identify other available space that can be used for temporary classrooms.

 

Some churches can do this type of space “check up” in house, using church staff and volunteers.  But many larger churches will need professional assistance from an experienced architect or help from their denomination.  The following is a brief outline of the seven basic steps needed to complete a classroom space assessment:

1.  It is essential to have accurate floor plans of the entire facility.  The plans should be “to scale,” meaning they can be accurately measured with an architectural scale to determine room sizes.  If you do not have (or cannot find) your building floor plans, you will need to measure each room and prepare an “as-built” floor plan.  An architect can field measure your building and provide accurate as-built drawings. Be sure to include the fellowship hall and gymnasium.


2. With accurate floor plans and room dimensions, calculate the area of each useable classroom.  Room square footage is a valuable tool for determining how many people can be comfortably accommodated in each space.  Label each classroom on the plan and show the room square footage.  For children’s classrooms, do not include toilets or the space taken by cabinets or storage.


3. Hopefully, your church has kept class attendance records throughout the year.  These valuable attendance records will now come in handy.  Determine the average attendance and the highest attendance for each class for the past year.  These two numbers are important.


4. List each classroom by age group on a spreadsheet showing class designation and description, current average attendance, highest attendance, and the square footage of the room in which the class meets.  Include a column labeled “Room Capacity” and a column labeled “Comfort Capacity.”  Generally, “Comfort Capacity” is 75% to 80% of room capacity. 


5. The following are our recommendations for ideal maximum room capacity (high attendance) based on age group:


1. Bed Babies through kindergarten                                30 square feet / child


2. Grade school                                                               25 square feet / child


3. Middle, High School, & College                                 20 square feet / person


4. Adults                                                                          15 square feet / person
6. Large seminar rooms for youth and adults will have a somewhat better per square foot room capacity than smaller rooms.  For spaces over 400 square feet we recommend a room capacity of 15 square feet per person for high school/college and 12 square feet per person for adults.  The capacity of long narrow rooms and “L” shaped rooms should be adjusted by deducting the unusable part of the room from the room area.  Do not use “code capacity” numbers sometimes shown on plans for assembly and educational occupancy.  This is a completely different number used by code officials to verify adequate exit capacity for life safety and fire code compliance.


7. Review each space to compare actual attendance with the room’s capacity and comfort capacity.  In a typical church most classrooms are being utilized below comfort capacity, except perhaps a few Sundays each year.  Some churches have several classes that have grown and are reaching 80% of capacity every Sunday and may be at or above maximum capacity more than twice a year.  These classes need your immediate attention.  Find a bigger room for these classes or split them into smaller classes if the additional classroom space is available.  Likewise, some classes that are well below room comfort capacity should be moved to smaller rooms.  It is not a matter of creating new space as much as making better use of the space you have so the most crowded classes have room to grow.

Classes should never be allowed to “own” a classroom. Everyone should be willing to make the changes necessary for the good of the church. However, most churches try to keep certain age groups together in one section of the facility.  If possible, preschool and children’s classrooms should remain in close proximity to one another and not be scattered around the building. 

Example of Space Utilization Spreadsheet

In this example, Grade 5 is overcrowded.  Grade 5 could swap rooms with Adult A.  However, relocating Grade 5 to Room 103 would be even more efficient. But then another room with at least 225 square feet will need to be found for Adult B.  Perhaps another children’s class that is meeting in a larger but not over crowded room could swap with Grade 5, allowing them to remain in the same area.

An architect experienced in church design or an expert from your denomination will know how to conduct a space utilization assessment.  The advantage to using an outside service includes the fact that that their recommendations will be from a fresh and unbiased viewpoint.  Shifting classes around to classrooms appropriately sized for actual attendance should provide a growing church more room for growth and time to plan and build the needed expansion.  Begin planning for expansion well before much of your space reaches the 80% of capacity.  At that point, lack of space will begin to hinder further growth.

 

There are other ways to find space for crowded classes. A growing church that is not already using its gym or fellowship hall can purchase or build portable walls to turn large open rooms into temporary classrooms.  These wall panels can be configured many different ways and moved out of the way for activities requiring the large open room.

Portable Partitions used in a Gym  

A church with adequate worship capacity and inadequate classroom capacity may need to consider two teaching hours with the worship hour in between.  A growing church, one with sufficient parking but desperate for both worship and classroom space, should consider having two worship services with two simultaneous teaching hours.  Other creative ways to solve space shortages include use of portable modular classrooms and having classes meet in member’s homes.  Many churches have adopted the home cell group concept and avoided the expense of larger classroom buildings.  Shifting classes around or conducting multiple events may seem traumatic to some church members. If the church is to grow, the leadership must be sensitive and clearly explain the reason for the changes.  Everyone should be “on board” for the good of the entire church.

Some church facilities built prior to 1970 have many small classrooms, especially in children’s departments. Current teaching philosophy and today’s culture require larger classes and larger classrooms.  It may be time to remove walls between these small rooms to create larger, more useful classrooms.  Before proceeding, have an experienced architect or engineer look at any such renovations for structural integrity issues and conformance with the building codes.  Even removing a few walls will require a proper building permit.

If a space utilization assessment reveals your church has an apparent shortage of space, first seek professional or denominational help to identify creative solutions to your space needs.  Reassign classrooms based on actual class size and explore other options such as two Bible Study hours or home based small groups.  Since maximizing use of existing space is much less costly than building new space, explore all possible alternatives before rushing into a building program.  If you become certain of the need to build, start planning far enough in advance so that growth is not hindered by lack of space. Reallocation of classroom space and taking other creative measures will permit continued growth while buying you time to properly plan and raise funds for the needed expansion project.  A space utilization assessment and expert professional assistance will help you make more efficient use of the space you already have.  

Bob Foreman is senior principal at Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture, an Atlanta firm specializing in the design of church and school facilities. Bob is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is a LEED Accredited Professional.