By Albert Park, Building Project Co-chair

After a quiet summer, the Building Design Team focused on the needs of many user groups. Subcommittees were formed that concentrated on: the kitchen, meditation room, sanctuary, religious education, administration and green concepts. With this new information, our architect from Boldt Construction, Doug Haas, made many changes to the plan. These included moving many of the RE rooms to the lower level, bringing the meditation room upstairs, redesigning the kitchen, and adding interesting details to the sanctuary. Members were invited to view and make comments regarding these changes in October, and several good ideas were generated from these listening sessions.

The next design phase is commonly referred to as "design development." This phase puts flesh to the schematic design bones of the plan and incorporates all information about heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, cabinets, doors, hardware and appliances. Finishes, including wall coverings, flooring and ceilings are determined. It's also during this phase that decisions regarding green concepts will be made. All of these details have yet to be discussed, considered and incorporated into the design.