(Wilsons, VA) Grace United Methodist Church dedicated the Frances and Thomas Hawkes Fellowship Hall, following worship services on Sunday, July 12, 2009.

Located at 1705 Cox Road in Dinwiddie County and designed to compliment the style and character of the existing Sanctuary, the new 3,500 square foot facility provides multiuse fellowship and education space including dinner seating for 120, a new expansive kitchen, new men’s and women’s restrooms, and accessibility for the physically handicapped.

The expansion project developed out of a Master Plan developed by Richmond architect and church design specialist, William Henry Harris, whose firm, William Henry Harris & Associates, celebrates 26 years of working with over 200 Virginia churches.

The general contractor for the $500,000 project was Frankie Williamson Contracting of Blackstone, Virginia.

For more information call:
William Henry Harris III, AIA
804.780.0070
Hugh Jones, Chairman, Building Committee
434.294.1638

(Richmond, VA) Historic 133-year old Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church, located at 1408 West Leigh Street in Richmond, dedicated its new $1.2 million Social Center on Sunday, April 27, 2009 at a special dedication service at 10:00 AM.

Designed by church architect William Henry Harris & Associates, Inc., the renovation resulted in a multi-purpose Social Center to seat 300 for fellowship dinners and community activities. A new state of the art commercial kitchen and pantry replaced an outdated kitchen. A new fire-rated entrance and stairway provides access to all church levels. On a second level, the center also includes library and conference space as well as renovated administration and pastoral care offices.

Site work included new parking spaces and access walks. Storage spaces and accessible restrooms completed the new expansion plan.

The center is Phase One of a multi-phase expansion plan. Future phases include a Sanctuary renovation and an education wing for this growing church in historic Jackson Ward.
Renovation of the 10,000 square foot project was started in April 2008.

The general contractor for the project was Brooks & Co. General Contractors of Richmond, VA.

(Richmond, VA) Trinity Baptist Church completed a new Christian Life Center, January 23, 2009.

Located at 3601 Dill Road, the new 28,000 square foot facility is part of a two campus facility whose Worship Center is located at 2811 Fendall Avenue. The new Community Center will provide multiuse fellowship, recreation and education space on two floors, including a full size basketball court, dinner seating for 350, a full commercial kitchen, exercise, strength training and aerobics studios, a café, a stage for concerts with state of the art audio-visual support, offices for the pastor and staff, and accessibility for the physically handicapped.

The $5,000,000 expansion project is Phase one of a multi-phased Master Plan developed by Richmond architect and church design specialist, William Henry Harris, whose firm, William Henry Harris & Associates, has worked with over 200 Virginia churches in the past 26 years. This project is one of seven church projects the firm has recently designed and completed in the Richmond area.

For more information visit us at: http://www.harrisarchitects.org/

Welcome to my blog!

In the coming months I hope to provide information and insight to readers about the excitement and complexities of the planning, design, and construction industries.

I will post comments about the many different aspects of planning and constructing a project from my personal experiences. Although my experiences may be completely different from those experiences of others, I will hopefully share some wisdom I have gained over my 35 years of practicing architectural design.

Once again, welcome to my blog and I hope you will enjoy the topics presented!

Harry Harris