The new dome-shaped building of All Nations Church in Northern Ontario, which is close to completion, is set to be the region’s greenest house of worship.

Pastor Jeremy Mahood seemed perplexed while looking at the fitting of acoustic panels on the ceiling of the 550-seat auditorium of the new building of All Nations Church. Based on previous plans, he thought that the panels would be placed differently, but now he has to find a creative way to adjust the same.

“That’s one thing about the project,” Mahood mused. “No matter what is drawn on the plans, we always seem to be making adjustments.”

Mahood learned his lesson over the past five years, as the unique monolithic dome in Northern Ontario is finally taking shape atop a hill overseeing downtown Sudbury. Following a loan sanction of $2.3 million from Northern Credit Union in 2015 that allowed the church to complete construction, Mahood estimated that the building would be prepared for occupancy by the end of this month. The project, which started in 2011, constitutes a 13,000 square foot monolithic dome joined by a covered walkway to another 4,000 square foot core building that is to serve as the office complex and youth center. The congregation constructed the structure on a pay-as-you-go system, raising as much as $4.5 million for the project.

However, construction came with its fair share of challenges. After the HVAC system came in exceeding $250,000 of the original budget, it had to be redesigned. Now, the planned use of heat pumps has been replaced with natural gas. Similarly, the LED lighting exceeded the former budget and the carpeting, which is yet to be manufactured, was late to arrive.

Yet, Mahood, who has not been swayed by these setbacks, still believes that the church is a fine example of how industrial design can be used for sacred purposes.

“It’s frustrating when things come in way over budget,” he said. “Our goal is still to be as green a building as we can be, and we will still be one of the greenest buildings in Ontario.”

Once construction has been completed, the church would pair up with a program titled ‘Greening Sacred Spaces’ to utilize All Nations Church as an example of green architecture.

“We’re hoping that what we’ve learned in terms of green energy and green construction, we’ll be able to pass the information along to other large buildings,” he said.

The centerpiece of the project is the auditorium, where services will be held. It constitutes finely tuned acoustics that have been specially designed for the space, sloped seating arrangement for over 500 people and image magnification technology for broadcasting purposes. Some of the major trade work was handed out to local contractors, including Lopes Mechanical, T & G Electric, TerraNorth, Centis Tile & Terrazzo, Pioneer Construction, Manitoulin Global and Manitoulin Transport. Mahood said that all the local businesses offered fantastic help with a community-minded approach towards the project, but the increased cost of hiring local tradespeople for the smaller skilled trades compelled the church to employ workers from outside Northern Ontario. According to him, the drywalling, painting and carpentry was allocated to a crew from Hawkey Church Management.

“Given the shortage of trades, their costs are at a premium, and we just couldn’t do it,” Mahood said. “We can’t afford to pay the premium, because we don’t have an end user to pass that on to.”

After the congregation moves into its new facility, it will celebrate the building’s opening with several events, including a public open house that is supposed to be organized next spring.

After completion, the church will be characterized with a beacon of light projected through the core building’s skylight. For the congregation, the beam would symbolize hope, a reminder for locals to carry that hope through their everyday lives. For secular individuals however, the beacon would highlight an innovative architectural style that holds promise for Northern Ontario.

“I do believe it’s going to be a showcase for a green sacred space that Sudbury can say they’re first out of the blocks at, and one of the first in Ontario,” Mahood said. “Sudbury: the little town in Northern Ontario that could.”

Photo Credits: Sudbury Northern Life