The First Congregational Church of Berkeley has been a force for good in their neighborhood on the southside of UC Berkeley Campus since the Church’s founding in 1874. As a whole and through the work of small groups and ministries, the Church actively advocates for equity, justice, inclusion and environmental stewardship. In 2016, during a solar panel installation, the roof of their existing 95-year-old Pilgrim Hall caught fire, destroying the building, its social hall, offices and classrooms. Not easily discouraged and in close collaboration with Siegel & Strain Architects, the Church leadership and congregation flipped the loss to opportunity to create a new Community Hall designed to better serve their mission, ministries and neighborhood in an architectural character complementary to the remaining historic church structures but with a greater sense of lightness, welcome and integration than the original Pilgrim Hall.

The new two-story 9,700 sf Community Hall includes church administration spaces as well as an assembly hall, a commercial kitchen and program rooms for the Church’s social, educational, mission-driven and celebratory functions, and which can be shared with the larger community for gatherings and meetings. Given the project budget and cost of construction, the new building is smaller than the original but with the added bonus of a garden terrace for everyday use, special events and worship. The fire-damaged building was deconstructed so that the salvaged wood framing can be reused in the new structure. The new building has a well-insulated, high performing envelope, and is equipped with efficient all-electric kitchen, mechanical, plumbing and electrical units and devices, keeping operating energy loads (and the resulting photovoltaic array and carbon footprint) to a minimum. Construction began in Fall 2022 and is scheduled for completion Winter 2023.