Wellesley Congregational Church’s 150-foot spire has marked the center of town since 1922. The existing building, a 43,000-square foot, three story structure, shares its site with a burial ground which dates from the late eighteenth century.
In response to the needs of a growing community, the congregation embarked on a year-long "visioning" process to establish goals for the transformation of the building to meet the mission and future of the church. At the end of the process, the church engaged OMR to add 7,000 square feet to its classrooms and support spaces and provide for a larger fellowship hall.
The program also included renovation of the existing structure and replacement of outdated building systems. After exploring a broad range of options developed by OMR, the congregation chose to demolish a portion of a 1955 addition. In its place, a new fellowship hall adjacent to the renovated Sanctuary provides access through an exterior arcade and reopens the connection with the church cemetery. A new library looks out over the cemetery. Expanded flexible classrooms double as meeting space on the lower and upper levels. Skylights admit natural light into the lower level lobby. New, larger offices occupy the original Parish House, which parallels the Sanctuary.
The renovated church, located in the heart of Wellesley Center, presents a new face to the neighborhood, reconnecting both with its own past and the broader community.
“At the end of this process we had a design which was exciting to the congregation and allowed us to have a successful fund raising campaign...We are very happy with the design and our working relationships with OMR.” --Randolph Hatch, Chair, Building Project Committee
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