UNIVERSAL WORSHIP CENTER
General Description
The first Universal Worship Center will be located somewhere in the Dallas Fort Worth area. This will be a unique structure that brings various religious groups to worship under the same roof, a concept that might be unimaginable to many people! It will consist of up to 5 floors. The first floor would be the largest and have the capacity of 1000 occupants or more. This will be reserved by the individual groups for occasions that require more space than is available on their individual floors. It will have a large stage at the front. There will be many curtains and banners at the stage and the surrounding walls to customize the hall according to the group that is occupying it at any given time. These curtains will serve the same purpose as performance theater halls.
Architectural Design
The main building will consist of five floors. There are stair cases located outside and inside of the building to lead up to each floor. There will also be elevators for accessibility. The aerial view will show 5 concentric squares. The different floors will have slightly varied floor plans as shown in the attached sketches.
The foundation will be made up of stone and concrete while the rest of the building walls will be made of brick with Cement/concrete. These can be reinforced with a steel frame on the inside.
Other great worship places have withstood the forces of nature for a long time. Likewise our group would want our structure to be equally if not more strong, to last for decades to come.
Garden space will be created at the roof tops. This will be made with extra steel to hold the extra soil and plant weight. In addition there will be several layers of moisture barriers to guard against moisture seeping into the building walls. Heavy clear glass will be use for the windows as well as the retractable garden roof. The sky light will be made of opaque fiber glass. All the halls will have niches (spaces that recede back into a wall) at alternating intervals.
Harmony With Nature
The building’s architectural design provides for space at the top of each floor. This space would be filled with flower gardens. There would also be artificial water fountains placed strategically in the gardens. Benches would be placed among the gardens. Facility visitors and worshipers would be able to sit outdoors to meditate or just visit with each other. This arrangement would provide a great sense of the facility being in harmony with nature. The facility would also have retractable glass covering over the gardens. In the event of rain or poor weather, garden visitors would still be able to access the gardens and see the outside. In this case they would cherish the marvels of falling rain without getting wet. They would be able to see the rain from both above them as well as around them, something that would not otherwise be possible with traditional windows. The worship units/ halls would also have large windows and translucent sky lights. This would let in natural light and add to the facility’s harmony with nature.
Symbolism And Sacred Objects
As mentioned earlier, the building would consist of various floors solely dedicated to individual faiths such as Christianity, Islam, Buddha and Hindu. These floors would be decorated with symbols to suit each faith. The Christian floor, for instance would have a large cross at the front of the worship hall. The walls would be decorated with biblical art works such as paintings of the last supper, the birth of the messiah, the Crucifixion of Christ among other traditional symbols. The Islamic floor would have minimal furniture in the worship hall. The floor would be adorned with high quality carpet or mats to provide comfort for the worshipers as they kneel down to worship. The front of this hall would be positioned in such a way that worshipers would be able to face the east as they conduct their prayers. Quran scriptures in Arabic will be etched into the walls. Faith based figurines such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the prophet Mohammed would be placed in the niches in the hallways.
How It Is Used By Worshipers
As alluded to in the name, this structure would be mainly used for worship. A large percentage of the space is dedicated for praise and worship. As a family oriented facility, space has also been set aside to entertain and socialize with each other. Libraries would be stocked with books for various age groups as well as religious artifacts.
This facility would be very unique in that it would provide accommodation to various religions concurrently. As far has our group is aware, (Van Gogh), there are no other similar structures in existence. Therefore, we foresee this facility turning out to be a historical monument and even tourist attraction. There is a possibility of this building being replicated elsewhere in the world and customized to the indigenous faith groups.
