Harrison Design is a large architectural firm with office locations in Washington, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Naples (Florida), Santa Barbara and St. Simons, George who offer a broad range of architectural design services, including the realm of sacred architecture. Recently they embarked on a project design for St. John Paul II parish in Olathe, Kansas. The project is quite significant in scale and scope, so we'll let the firm itself give you the background:
St. John Paul II Parish in Olathe, KS, a suburb of Kansas City. Founded in 2016 by the Archbishop of Kansas City KS, Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann. The Archbishop helped choose the name in collaboration with the parish and its founding pastor, Fr. Strobl. The dedication is particularly meaningful to Archbishop Naumann as St. John Paull II ordained him to the Episcopate in 1997 and appointed him to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas in 2004. In light of the mission to establish and develop the Parish of St. John Paul II, the Parishioners and the current Pastor, Fr. Brandon Farrar, are dedicated to building a campus worthy of the rapidly growing young parish. The campus is planned with an elegant, axial approach that fronts the paved and green spaces at the heart of campus with dignified facades of the surrounding buildings, and gives particular prominence to the Church façade. The layout and architecture hearken to the design sensibilities at Mundelein Seminary, and the concentration of public space within the perimeter wall and the parish buildings is akin to University quadrangles, such as those at the University of Notre Dame or Harvard University.
Ochre brick, Indiana limestone, and copper are used throughout the campus, lending a sense of harmony and collegiality, while compositional strategies and the careful use of the classical orders give each building a distinct character. The church is at a much larger scale, with Corinthian pilasters, bell towers, and a dome, clearly signifying pride of place. The School and Hall are adorned with Ionic Columns, and twin copper cupolas. The school façade is crowned by a pediment, while the hall portico is horizontal and surmounted by the four figures of the Evangelists, reminiscent of the Erechtheon.
Baroque Rome and St. Peter’s Basilica were chosen as a starting point for design inspiration of the proposed church building, to honor the historical and remarkable papacy of the parish’s patron. While the façade is explicitly a revised version of the St. Peter’s Basilica façade, the interior is in scale with many Roman churches, such as Il Gesu. Marble, gilded mouldings and pendant lights, and a bronze baldacchino enrich the interior with the same baroque sensibility. A marble screen in the sanctuary provides a focal point and backdrop to the tabernacle, while hiding the choir located just behind.
The campus will be built out over several phases. First, half of the church including the dome and transepts will be completed, followed by the second half and then the façade and towers. Next is the Academy, also in two phases, enclosing after the second phase a recreation courtyard. The Rectory will be completed along with the first phase of the Academy. Finally, the Parish Hall and gated wall will complete the quad. Additionally, the parish plans to reserve space for a cemetery with over 1100 graves.
The final campus will include the Church at 24,000 SF and 860 seats in pews with an additional aisle overflow seating of 240; the school at 36,000 SF with 23 classrooms, a gym, a library, and a cafeteria; and the parish hall at 15,000 SF with capacity for 500 gathered. The parish has raised over 5.5MM for the first phase of construction, which includes half of the church building with a temporary façade.
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