Witness to the light : the evolution of church sanctuary design & standards of comfort in the last century in Harrison County, Iowa

Abstract

This thesis investigates the factors that have caused changes in church sanctuary design in Harrison County, Iowa in the last century, focusing on daylight and thermal qualities. Most of the churches in the county today were built in the Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles between 1880 and 1930, before the era of active climate control. Cultural, historic, and aesthetic factors, as well as the available heating technology, shaped the original design of each church. As the ability to heat and cool interior spaces became more advanced, expectations of comfort changed and design priorities shifted. To understand the effects of changes in design and their likely motivation, case studies of the Missouri Valley Church of Christ and the Logan Christian Church were done, two churches built in the early 20* century and remodeled extensively in the middle of the century. These case studies included daylight simulations and thermal calculations. In general, in the post-renovation condition these churches had less illuminance throughout the year, somewhat less glare, and much less energy lost to conduction and ventilation. In the context of other area churches, it seems likely that new churches built in this county will have less glazing, overhangs to control overheating in the summer, and greater care taken when siting the church.