Shelter Industries Custom Modular Housing

A new church designed and built by Shelter Industries offers unique interior and exterior wood construction.

St. Nicholas Parish recently constructed a Catholic Church in a five-acre forested setting in the Walnut Grove section of Langley, BC.  Parish leadership decided to preserve or utilize as much of the forest as possible.  Using a portable saw mill, the large cedar, fir and hemlock trees located on part of the site were transformed into beams, columns, trusses and siding for the building.  The alter cross is made from the first tree cut.

Barry Nickerson, Chair of the Building Committee, recalls, “We wanted to maintain the site’s natural condition as much as possible, and use the trees to blend the building into the site.  It worked out very well.” The wood materials provide a “dramatic and beautiful effect.”

THE DESIGN/BUILD ADVANTAGE
Nickerson says that Shelter produced the church on a Design/Build basis — Shelter handled all the aspects of designing and constructing the building, from beginning to end, including all site work, connections and paving. “This streamlined the process, reduced waste and kept costs in line.  We knew how much we could afford to spend.  Shelter’s architect, who worked both for us and Shelter, designed to fit our budget.  There were no cost overruns.  In the end, we got tremendous value for our dollar with Design/Build.”

The 7,500 square-foot modular building was constructed in Shelter’s factory, with a central nave constructed on site because of height considerations.  “We can hardly believe that it’s modular,” says Nickerson.  “You wouldn’t know which sections are modular and which are site built.”

MODULAR SPEED AND QUALITY
The modular approach also offered speedier construction; the church had a brief time frame for completion.  “There is a controlled construction environment in the factory,” Nickerson points out.  “The quality is just superb.  People are really pleased with the result.”

Jamie Cooke, project manager on Shelter’s Design/Build team, says that completing the building in the factory “cut our time dramatically and accelerated the target date.  It was about three months to initial occupancy.”

Father Mark Hagemoen, Parish Pastor, confirms that the use of site timber was done in a “tasteful way” that is very positive from a “spirituality and faith perspective.  We told Shelter what we wanted and what our budget was, and they came up with the best alternatives and the plans we liked the most.”

FUNCTIONAL AND COST-EFFECTIVE

Designed to be multi-use and multi-functional the church provides space for teaching, social activities, meetings, a library and offices, as well as prayer and worship.  A movable soundproof wall can be used to create a quiet area in the chapel. Parishioners “are very happy with the functional and cost-effective building.”

ARCHITECTRUAL DESIGN
“We collaborated with architect Christopher Vajda to come up with a design that really set us apart,” says Jamie Cook.  “He has a good sense of scale in placing the building on a sloping site that fits into the neighborhood.” Shelter’s Vic Schneider added that Shelter handled consultants and licensing.

The project is the first phase, with other buildings to be added to the site in future.