The beautiful new St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Friendship, Wisconsin, is the culmination of the congregation’s nearly 15-year commitment to the community and their five-year plan to construct a new building on property they purchased across from the Adams County Fairgrounds.
The finished product is an attractive 7,500-square-foot wood-framed building that was completed by Friede & Associates in time for a quiet first service on September 27, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a more public celebration will be planned for some time in 2021.
The six-month project had begun at the end of March and included everything from site infrastructure to final finishes and the installation of the signature NanaWall retractable glass wall system that separates the sanctuary and general-purpose room and allows for more space for the congregation on religious holidays and special church events.
The building also features a warming kitchen, offices, classrooms, and a parent’s room with windows to the sanctuary so that they can continue to participate in services if they have young children. The church is also designed to aid in future expansion as the congregation grows.
Friede worked in concert with Mente Engineering of Reedsburg on the architectural and structural plans and worked with Hartje Lumber for engineering of the panelized wall system that was utilized by the project to minimize construction time and reduce material waste.
St. Paul’s was initially able to secure the commitment of the Builders for Christ volunteer organization, which would provide all the carpentry labor for the project.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the volunteers were unable to participate, and the Friede team assumed responsibility for the project’s finished carpentry on extremely short notice.
With a slightly modified team of players in place, the project was finally started in late April and proceeded throughout the summer and until its completion at the end of September, just over one year after the congregation had selected the Friede/Mente team to design and build its new church.
Friede & Associates has been providing quality design-build commercial and industrial construction services throughout Wisconsin since the late 1890s. They provide their clients with complete design-build, general contracting, pre-construction, renovation, restoration, and construction management services, www.friede.com.
Photo courtesy of Tristin Photography
