Chestnut Ridge, NY

Proposed new Coptic Orthodox Church with an attached education / administrative building (approximately 52,000 sf in total) designed for this Egyptian Christian denomination's 11 acre wooded site in the Village of Chestnut Ridge. The proposed church will have a main sanctuary space and mezzanine with total seating for 800 people, and a full social activities center in the level below. The church will be connected to a two story education / administrative building housing classrooms for religious study and administrative spaces. The church, education / administrative building, and connecting wing are designed to create a large, paved central courtyard onto which all the buildings open. It is the intent, in the design of this Coptic Orthodox Church, to employ traditional Coptic architectural forms and elements in a manner that respects the traditions of the Coptic Christian faith but at the same time is contemporary and of this time.