St. Mina Gym: Balzac, AB
10,700 square feet
Gym and classrooms building adjacent to existing church
$3.3 million
Completed in 2019
St. Mina Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church had an existing beautiful building for worship and fellowship. The congregation needed an expansion to accommodate more social, educational and recreational functions for various groups. The new gymnasium building includes a full size space for sports and spectators as well as education and multi-use spaces.
The design challenge was to provide a new building that would blend successfully with the unique traditional Orthodox style of the original church building. The second challenge was to ensure that the original church and the new gymnasium building would be designed for a future connecting link allowing interior passage between the original and the new portions of the facility. Parking was also expanded to accommodate the new functions.
The south face of the new gymnasium provides a visible canvas to display orthodox artistic motifs.