It’s easy to walk into the doors of Woodstock Community Church’s new Rope Mill Road campus and feel like you haven’t left the confines of the surrounding habitat. The contemporary design that incorporates natural stone, locally milled birch and walnut hardwoods gives the building an organic feel.

That look and appeal is winning the local church  accolades. The architects behind the design were awarded recently with a national Solomon Award, in the category of Best New Church Design of up to 800 seats.

(LEFT:  The “organic” design of Woodstock Community Church  caught the eye of the Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities Magazine, as it was awarded the Solomon Award at the Worship Facilities Conference and Expo in Dallas, Texas earlier this month. Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates | Special)

TSW Architectural Director Jerry Spangler said he put pencil to paper to design what church leaders described was their vision — a natural, organic ministry that emphasized intimacy over grandness.

“We focused on creating multiple gathering spaces characterized by natural light and fresh, contemporary finishes,” Spangler said. “The ‘Woodland Modern’ design style reflects the physical character the church wanted to project to the community as well as to its members.”

TSW may be familiar on the local level – it did planning and architectural work for the Woodstock Downtown development.

“(Pastor Greg Michael) was very receptive to giving me, the designer, sort of a broad brush in terms of what I might bring to the table, which is unusual,” Spangler said.

Michael said in speaking with one of the church members, local business owner Tony Eyl, he decided to contact the firm, with the initial thought that the church would not be able to afford its services. But, he said Spangler told them he had experience designing churches, wanted the chance to design another and would work with them to keep the project affordable.

“We didn’t want to build a building that we’d come and have a meeting on a Sunday morning and a Wednesday night and spend all this money,” Michael said. “We wanted something that felt more like a third place, where people would want to come and hang out, more like a retreat than just a meeting hall. And, so (Spangler) just came back with his thoughts, and we fell in love with it.”

Michael said it’s refreshing to walk into the church facility, which has an open feel with many windows, since many new churches that are being built resemble concert halls.

(LEFT:  Pastor Greg Michael of Woodstock Community Church used his skills in woodworking to help with the remodeling of the church. Michael also used his woodworking skills as part of The Chambers at City Center remodel. The Chambers is now located in the former building of Michael’s church congregation. Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates | Special)

“A lot of the windows open so that when the weather permits, we’ve got fresh air,” he said. “Our building is totally automated. All of the heating and air, all of the lights can be controlled by a computer, and I can even turn the lights and air on in different rooms and places of the building through my iPhone.”

Between two congregations that gather at the church, there are 200-225 families.

“It’s hard to believe how God’s blessed us because the building that we were in was very dated and there were a lot of issues with it,” Michael said. “Moving into this space has really helped, if this makes sense, our self-image as a church.”

The cost for the design and construction, not including land purchase, was $2.53 million. The city of Woodstock purchased WCC’s former site on Main Street (the Chambers at City Center is now located in the old sanctuary) for $3.7 million.

Because the church had to stick to its budget, Spangler said he used a pre-engineered metal structure and more modest finishes, which helped bring the cost down.

The 19,000-square-foot facility, which opened in January, incorporates three individual structures: a 300-seat sanctuary, a fellowship hall that accommodates weekly dining and basketball events and an educational wing designed for a future second floor expansion. Each structure has its own distinctive form and site orientation. A central gathering space and two exterior courtyards link the three structures.

Michael also was able to have a personal hand in it — he and his sons own Mi-Kin Creations, a custom furniture and cabinetry business.

“We did all of the woodwork in the building, all the mill work, all the woodwork in the sanctuary, coffeebar and the doors,” he said. “We also did the renovations of the old sanctuary for the city.”

Spangler said he felt he was successful in creating a contemporary look that matched the church’s contemporary service. And, in a nod to the environment, the parking lot features asphalt drive aisles, but the parking spaces are a loose gravel, which helps with retaining stormwater runoff.

“There is a cost to doing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and there was a very tight budget and we simply couldn’t do that, but we brought in quite a few green features,” he said.

The sanctuary’s large windows provide lots of natural light and lessen the need for using electricity all of the time.

Overall, Spangler said he was elated to win the award, adding he was encouraged by Michael to enter the church for consideration.