The expansion of the King’s Highway United Methodist Church in Brooklyn is a thoughtful architectural intervention that reinterprets the campus’s prominent garden corner as a “lifted landscape”. Responding to the need for a modern youth and community center, the design conceptually elevates a portion of the existing green space, supporting it with a new transparent gymnasium and teen center.

This new addition functions as an L-shaped ensemble that reinforces the campus’s community gathering atmosphere while creating a modern contemporary, intentional counterpoint to the 1924 sanctuary’s heavy grounded masonry. The addition appears to delicately hover, achieved through a continuous ribbon of perimeter glazing at the base, creating the illusion of a floating structure. A second band of glazing below the roofline further detaches the roof garden from the volume below, visually enhancing the weightless aesthetic.

Beyond creating safe, social spaces for youth, the project integrates vertical productive farming into the roof garden, blending ministry with sustainable community interaction. The new wing improves campus accessibility by seamlessly connecting all levels, offering a light-filled welcoming environment that serves as a modern beacon for the thriving church community.

Key Architectural Features:

• Elevated Landscape: A portion of the site is lifted to the roof, creating a rooftop farming initiative.
• Floating Volume: Continuous lower glazing makes the gymnasium appear to hover.
• Light-Filled Transparency: A clerestory band of glazing floods the gymnasium with natural light.
• Contrast & Unity: The tectonics of a light modern addition creates a deliberate contrast to the heavy 1924 masonry sanctuary.
• Integrated Campus: An L-shaped footprint strengthens the community garden atmosphere.