Abstract
The Christian worship space has changed much over the history of the life of the Church. Interior design of worship spaces began in the homes of converts to Christianity, moved to very regal, ornate and spacious structures, and now can be one of a myriad of space types. The early home churches were dual-purpose spaces, with the everyday uses set aside for the worship time and then put back in place for home use. The design is different for Catholic versus Protestant churches, and also between separate Protestant divisions. The rituals of each type of service require differing furnishings and accoutrements. Preferences for certain rituals may take the focus in one church versus another. Even the Methodist churches in the same city of the same state can be somewhat different in their interior design. The early Methodist churches in Tallahassee, FL used architectural features similar to the London examples of their time, such as St. Martin-in-the-fields. The Killearn United Methodist church, built in the 1960s is of a more contemporary style, and the newest Methodist church, built in 2007, is very different to either of these other earlier churches. The heart, then, of the design solution for a sanctuary is to create a maximized worship environment while applying ideology of the specific sect to the design ideas. Killearn United Methodist church is one of 15 United Methodist churches in Tallahassee, Florida. As the church has grown over the years, worship services were added to accommodate the changing worship desires of the congregation. The fellowship hall in the church is used for one of the three worship services on any given Sunday morning. It is also used for a casual worship service on Friday nights. This space was not designed to be a sanctuary, but because it is used for that purpose, the space should be redeveloped to better incorporate worship. Qualitative research will be used to support the design decisions for this space.
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