Conventions of Churches
The church of England requires that the church chairs need to fit in within the interior of the church and be sympathetic to the historical features. Additionally, it is actually a legal requirement that the church pews must blend in within the church.
I thought it was important to actually conduct some first hand research and have a look at some of the common conventions that appear in churches in a bid to translate these factors within my own designs.
The first church that I visited was St Bartholomew's which is a well known church in Brighton. Below are some pictures that I have captured.
First of all the brick work is very detailed, statues of saints are also apparent and the stain glass windows are a huge feature of the building.
But how can I integrate these factors within my piece?
Well first of all the immense detail and the time spent on the church strongly suggests that the design proposed must be finished to a high standard but also fit in with the surroundings and historical interiors of the church. The chair must be well designed and finished to the best quality.
The brick work again is very detailed. The alter is the focus of the church and it is illuminated through lighting and religious statues and paintings.
Could I incorporate paintings or religious statues within my chair?
If these chairs are going to be used for other activities within the church perhaps it would not be appropriate to include these types of design features. The specifications state that they need to be multifunctional, well this insinuates to me that they need to be suitable for all types of uses and if it used for a wedding reception or a church fair are these designs going to look really out of place? Or perhaps even come across as tacky. Subtleness would or could be a option in terms of using these types of imagery. Also the brief states that they need to be relatively low maintenance, now would you need a specialised to keep retouching a painting on a chair? Which in turn cost further money especially if the church is going to use several hundred chairs.
Dark stained wood is seems to appear quite often in churches - especially in this one I found that it was quite common in furniture and religious objects. The wood is also carved in great detail and the symbol of the cross is an important focal point.
Personally, I think that it would be nice to include a cross within my own designs. This would be a nice subtle design feature.
But is wood a material that is feasible for these designs?
Through my research so far I know wood can be heavy, but it is also in some respect more traditional in the church environment and aesthetically it looks better. I need to try to create, design and manufacture a chair that is light in weight able to stack and also comfortable without relying on the need for upholster whilst also fitting in with the church. I think I would also need to think further about the finishes that I would apply to the wood it must last and also with stand regular use.
Looking back at all of my research so far and comparing all of the upholstery that I have seen in churches there seems to be a common correlation in terms of the colour schemes used. I have seen quite a lot of greens, reds, and blues - each of these colours look really nice with wood and do not really. This is a important factor to put into consideration when designing.
Is upholstery necessary?
My concerns and issues with upholstery is that it can require further maintenance, this costs money and the church states that the chairs/designs need to be affordable. Ergonomic designed chairs that do not rely on cushions to support comfort will be an area that I shall research into at a later date. It does state that upholstery although does helps with comfort it can also cause interference with the acoustics and also the aesthetics of the church. Another point is would the upholstery be removable? If so where will it go? What colours can be used that would suit most occasions or activities that the chairs will be used for. In some sense it seems more hassle then it is worth.
Is upholstery necessary?
My concerns and issues with upholstery is that it can require further maintenance, this costs money and the church states that the chairs/designs need to be affordable. Ergonomic designed chairs that do not rely on cushions to support comfort will be an area that I shall research into at a later date. It does state that upholstery although does helps with comfort it can also cause interference with the acoustics and also the aesthetics of the church. Another point is would the upholstery be removable? If so where will it go? What colours can be used that would suit most occasions or activities that the chairs will be used for. In some sense it seems more hassle then it is worth.
Stain glass windows with religious saints, figures or stories from the bible are quite common within a church. Although they look very pleasing to a use, I do not feel this is going to be a feasible or sensible thing to integrate within my designs. It would certain be a nice idea and use a different approach to the generic chairs that you see in churches but it is something that would require quite a lot of time and thought.
How can I use this concept of stain glass within my own designs?
Although this is not an essential part of the brief it is really important to consider aesthetics with any design. The only way that I can think about making it possible to use some sort of stain glass effect within my designs would be to use transparent plastic and using CAD/CAM technology to create a 3D engraving. But the issue with this is, maintenance cost, and flexibility in terms of it being multifunctional.
In churches you also tend to see a lot of statues of angels, these examples were in fact painted gold but they are not all like this.
Is there a way my designs could feature angels?
With wood you can engrave patterns onto the material using CAD/CAM technology, outlines of an angel would look nice for users to look at. however, is this really necessary though? Aesthetically it is pleasing but it does not help to support the functionality, comfort and overall practicality of the chairs which is the most vital aspect of these designs, so perhaps this would be something that could be developed later on once all of these principles were in place.
Many of the doors, and other furniture in the churches are not only made from wood and finished to a high standard (either varnished or waxed) but there is great detail and attention made on carving intricate shapes. This leaves a really nice finish for users and designing a chair that uses these conventions would be meeting part of the briefs requirements.
How can I create this kind of effect?
Wood turning? Engraving and design so it looks as if it has been carved with a 3D perspective.
This is just another example of religious statues and stories. It seems that these are really common factors that symbolise great importance's within the church. I have mentioned previously that although it is certainly an important design concept to bear in mind, it is difficult at this stage as to how you would incorporate this idea without it conforming to the brief and the chairs overall intentions.
Making this idea possible
If I decide later on to use upholstery for extra comfort perhaps a religious story or figure could be part of the fabric/cushion design. I think if that was the case then removable upholstery would be necessary in this circumstance because then at least if the chair is being used for another event within the church then the event organiser can decide whether or not the cushion is appropriate for that occasion. The only issue here is where would you store these cushions? It creates more clutter in a church which is not at all ideal.
It is important to consider the floors you tend to see in churches. So far the main types of flooring that I have come across during my research is wooden and stone. With this example they have used stone.
Most of the floors seem to be very dark in terms of their colour schemes.
How can my design put into consideration the flooring?
First of all the most important thing is that the chair must not damage the floor, this can be avoided by using rubber protectors at the end of each leg. In terms of colours and the types of materials I think being able to keep the it simple and sympathetic to the rest of the churches interiors will be enough. I don't want the materials and finish that I chose to clash with the floor so looking at colour schemes is important.
Most of the floors seem to be very dark in terms of their colour schemes.
How can my design put into consideration the flooring?
First of all the most important thing is that the chair must not damage the floor, this can be avoided by using rubber protectors at the end of each leg. In terms of colours and the types of materials I think being able to keep the it simple and sympathetic to the rest of the churches interiors will be enough. I don't want the materials and finish that I chose to clash with the floor so looking at colour schemes is important.
In the churches that I have visited there seem to be many candles and candle holders around. This particular example has been shaped very delicately using metal.
Is there a way that these idea could be replicated with my own designs?
Firstly, I do not think it would be ideal in fact at all sensible to design a chair for a church that has a candle holder within it. I merely was thinking about if I decided to use metal as the legs could I shape them in this kind of style so that it fits in with the rest of the candle holders? Or does this seem as if it could cause problems when stacking a chair?
These are all possibilities and obviously not to be set in stone however it is important to consider all aspects of the design. So hopefully these ideas are not completely absurd.
Is there a way that these idea could be replicated with my own designs?
Firstly, I do not think it would be ideal in fact at all sensible to design a chair for a church that has a candle holder within it. I merely was thinking about if I decided to use metal as the legs could I shape them in this kind of style so that it fits in with the rest of the candle holders? Or does this seem as if it could cause problems when stacking a chair?
These are all possibilities and obviously not to be set in stone however it is important to consider all aspects of the design. So hopefully these ideas are not completely absurd.
I have also noticed that there are a fair few picture frames that have prayers or passages taken from the bible.
How can this concept be used within my designs?
I think that a nice idea would be to perhaps engrave a prayer or bible passage on the back of the seat or even the base. It could alternately be hand painted however this would require a considerable amount of time in the manufacturing process and production which in turn could lead to it being quite pricey. It would be a subtle part of the design but I feel that aesthetically it would look really nice and be considerate the other interiors of the church if finished to a high standard.
How can this concept be used within my designs?
I think that a nice idea would be to perhaps engrave a prayer or bible passage on the back of the seat or even the base. It could alternately be hand painted however this would require a considerable amount of time in the manufacturing process and production which in turn could lead to it being quite pricey. It would be a subtle part of the design but I feel that aesthetically it would look really nice and be considerate the other interiors of the church if finished to a high standard.
Analysis of research
This has been a really useful form of research for me to conduct. Just by looking at different examples of items, and piece of furniture that you tend to see in churches has really helped me to think more about how as a designer I can use these elements within my own work. Part of the brief does say that it needs to be sympathetic to the interiors of the church, so if I was to use some of these examples in my the design it would certainly meet this aspect, the only concern here is that the chair does need to be used for different events and my question would this hinder it from being multifunctional?
. Although this is only a few examples of churches and only gives a general perception it has generally been helpful for me to obtain some of this as research and will be useful to reflect upon during the design process at a later stage.