Saint Peters Church – Center for Community Arts and Culture

In 1977, the renowned designers Lella and Massimo Vignelli designed the interiors of the new Saint Peters Lutheran Church. The Church and the Citicorp Building designed by Hugh Stubbins & Associates, were declared Landmark Site in December 2016, recognizing the historical place in the urban landscape of New York.

Fast forward to the pandemic, on the fateful morning of January 5th, 2021, an unforeseen disaster hit the community when a city water main running under Lexington Avenue broke causing a massive flooding of the Church. The breakage caused a heavy entry of water, silt sand and mud through the sunken on the South side of the Sanctuary. After ten days of cleaning efforts, the balance of damage extended from the Sanctuary and its revered organ to the other lower levels, administrative offices, irreplaceable jazz archives, black box theater and all its auxiliary spaces.

These two events tested the resilience of the Saint Peters Lutheran Church Community.  However, the Church is approaching this project as an investment in a Landmark. As part of the reconstruction, substantial modifications to the layout of the levels will be made to modernize and update the plan, catering to the needs of the community while homogenizing and harmonizing the overall interior design of the building with the original Sanctuary designed by the Vignellis.

The relationship of the Church with MQArchitecture dates to 2011 with the renovation of the Zion Center. During 2020, MQ Architecture was building the new Sacristy when the flooding destroyed the work. After the flooding, the total scope of the reconstruction extends more than 20.000 square feet across 4 levels. As the result of three years of design development, the rebuild will finally start in mid-2024.

The architectural language for the intervention is the result of a profound investigation into Vignelli’s work and design. It reflects their passion for the square and the grid, the proportions between elements, and the specific use of materials, patterns, colors, and wood finishes.

The Lower Level 2 layout is completely altered from the original and constitutes the “Center for Community Arts and Culture”. It is divided into two main programs: the Blackbox Theater and the Community Room.

Access to Lower Level 2 is thought the main elevator which directly opens to the new Theater Lobby. The Theater Lobby serves as a completely dramatic transitional black space that adjusts the visitor’s eyes to the darkness of the Blackbox Theater. The dark space is physically and visually connected to the higher Community room with a new stair and ADA lift. It features four accents: the ticket booth on one side, a bench integrated in the wall on the other, and a 12’ circular light with a freestanding circular seating area underneath. Black glossy aluminum slats surround the perimeter of the lobby. The use of wood as thresholds separates the lobby from the rest of the areas. The Theater is a giant empty black box facilitating multiple seats layouts. The program is complemented by the dressing rooms, offices, restrooms, lecture and choir room, control room costume care, storage, and ancillary rooms.

The Community room, also known as ‘the Cloister’, mimics the high degree of flexibility of the Sanctuary proposed by the Vignellis back in the 70s. As a central and symmetrical space, it offers multiple possible configurations. To emphasize the idea of a modern Cloister, the space is surrounded by several offices, rehearsal spaces for musicians, and archive rooms that open to central space as needed. A 30’x30’ suspended acoustical wood grid, indirectly illuminated, serves as the artificial sky of the Cloister. This effect is achieved along the perimeter with mirror friezes, giving the perception of an infinite ceiling. The materials that complement the design are microcement floors and wood slat acoustical walls. The grid, floors, doors, windows, and wood slats follow a squared grid, one of Vignelli’s obsessions. 

The rest of Lower Level 2 includes the reconstruction of the Sacristy, along with ancillary spaces, a pantry, restrooms, and mechanical and AV rooms.

Lower Level 1 includes the creation of the new Social Work and Family Care facilities, Senior Center Offices, the renovation of the Sanctuary restrooms and the replacement of the ceiling of the Living Space, which serves as a foyer of the Sanctuary.

The Street Level contains the new Church headquarters and the Zion Center, remodeled by MQA in 2011. The new layout of the space is based on symmetries and grids. The ceiling height is compressed in the corridors before entering the offices. All partitions are made of glass with wood frames to introduce light into all offices. The rest of the materials consist of walls, floors, and ceilings in white with wood accents and wood furniture. 10’x10’ squared bookshelves serve as the background of each office. Carpets with Vignelli’s pattern colors add a delicate touch, matching the cushions of the benches in the Sanctuary.

The estimated date of completion of the renovation would be July 2025. In 2027, after 50 years of the inauguration, the entire interior will join the exterior of the Church and the Citicorp Building and will be declared Landmark by the Landmark Preservation Commission.

Architect: Miguel Quismondo, AIA Location: 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY Estimated Completion Date: July 2025 Built area: 20,000 sq.ft. Team: Juan Carlos Bragado, Jacobo Mingorance, Ignacio de Siloniz, Chije Kahn Client: Saint Peters Lutheran Church Structural Engineer: R.D.G. Consulting Engineers MEP Engineer: CES Engineering Lighting Consultant: Sighte Studio Acoustical Consultant: SH Acoustics Code Consultant: Metropolis Group Inc. Graphic Designer: Waterhouse Cifuentes Design Theater Consultant: Lee Savage Construction & Property Manager: CBRE Photography: MQ Architecture