St. Stanislaus Catholic Church

Owner: The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas

Size: 12,000 sf; seats 400-450

Services provided: programming, master planning, architectural design, interior design, liturgical design, fundraising support, construction administration

Seating less than 200 people, the century-old St. Stanislaus church had become inadequate for this growing small-town parish. Parishioners were sometimes forced to attend Mass at other nearby churches due to a lack of space. Time, weather, and deferred maintenance had also rendered the building structurally unsound.

The new church is sited south of the Parish Hall but pushed farther back from the street to form a plaza in front of the church. The plaza serves to collect and reorient people approaching from parking areas scattered to all sides. It also provides an outdoor venue for liturgical rites of the Church and public gathering opposite the City park and swimming pool.

Drawing on Renaissance examples like Alberti’s Sant Andrea church and Palladio’s churches of the Veneto, the front facade of the new church recalls both the Roman temple front and triumphal arch to mark the passage from the worldly into a sacred realm, the dwelling place of God and his son Jesus Christ among us. The front facade is constructed predominantly of brick and limestone to give the church a sense of enduring permanence and the quality befitting the house of God.

The new church draws inspiration from Early Christian basilicas and is planned as a longitudinal, three aisle nave, terminating in the elevated Sanctuary with the Tabernacle as its central focus. The central aisle is ordered by giant pilasters. Between the pilasters, high semicircular windows flood the space with light from above, and openings below connect into the side aisles. The side aisles create an ambulatory path to view both the Stations of the Cross and the stained glass windows relocated from the old church. A choir loft is placed over the Narthex.

In consideration of the budget, the moldings are simplified, drawing inspiration from Art Deco examples. Yet, the architecture forms an appropriate canvas for the rich iconographic and devotional program including paintings, statues, and stained glass.

David Heit served as Sr. Project Manager and lead designer for this project while with another design firm.