Willow Creek Architecture

I have chosen to write about the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. The place in question is a large, modern building. Its exterior has a looming presence, as though it were a stadium or a shopping mall rather than a church. The abundance of entrances and sections make the church a difficult place to navigate. Each entrance has its own parking lot, leading to a separate wing of the structure. Surrounding the building is a beautiful landscape, with lawns, pathways, and miscellaneous plants meticulously placed across thousands of square feet of land. At the side facing the main road, there is a grand sign denoting the establishment placed in front of a large pond. The building’s exterior is dotted with an an ample number …show more content…
Each room has one or more televisions and a robust speaker system lining the walls. The rooms themselves serve a variety of functions, many of which would seem beyond the scope of a standard church. There are many signs denoting activities held at all times of year. There are multiple cafes and plenty of sitting space, which are always busy on sundays. Before a service begins, the members of Willow Creek converse in these spaces. Past the main entrance, there are several sets of staircases and escalators, leading to separate floors with rooms and winding hallways of their own. Near the stairs, a magnificent fountain cascades a waterfall all the way down to the basement level. Most of the churchgoers’ children stay for each service in the basement, as this floor offers both a safe and hassle-free childcare option for the parents, as well as the opportunity for the young ones to gain knowledge in religion and god at a young age, and in an entertaining …show more content…
This room has a large stage, as well as several tables and playmats that children could use while they waited for a service to begin. This room was also the site of an unusual experience for me. I remember a winged animal, that was either a bat or some kind of bird. The animal was disturbed by some young children who had noticed it, and it began to fly around the room. The other children, who were previously unaware that an animal was in the room, were surprised to see it moving around so erratically. This surprise led to a panic that quickly spread among the children. The tall ceilings and relative dark of the room added to the panic, seeing as the animal had quite a bit of space to fly around in, and it was quite difficult to tell what it was. As the children in this particular room were four to five years old, they were much too young to be coaxed into a calm state, and I had trouble attempting to get any of them to stay near me. Toddlers that I had been entrusted with ran in every direction, unable to calm themselves at the prospect of their perceived danger. Eventually, the situation was able to be resolved in a quick and easy manner, as an adult was able to let out the animal to the relative safety of the outdoors. The excitement and worry associated with such a situation will stay with me as a vivid memory of this