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Holy Sepulcher Parish Church   Glade Mills, Butler, PA

The new 17,000 square foot facility, which includes the main church plus an administrative wing, was constructed of concrete block bearing walls with face brick veneer. Sloped parapets along the gabled roofs were built with precast concrete copings.

Special masonry design elements included a twenty two foot wide arch at the front entry and various circular and arched openings that featured stained glass windows. The entrance arch was built using a concealed lintel system, as manufactured by Halfen. This arch, and the flanking horizontal openings, had soffits of exposed brick that were twenty four inches wide. Multiple soldier coursing, in a contrasting color, was also used at these arches and incorporated in a belt line around the building.

The main identifying religious element of the building is a forty-five foot high bell tower, topped with an aluminum cross. Each wall of this tower contains a four foot diameter louvered opening that allows sound to emanate from a refurbished bell, located high in the tower. The perimeters of these openings are also accented with special colored rowlock brick.

Interior stone masonry was introduced for curved walls in the Sanctuary area and in the supplemental Day Chapel space. These accent walls provide a dramatic background for the special marble liturgical furnishings and the central, refurbished crucifix. This stone was the same type that was used on the original church building, built in the 1950's.

The use of brick and stone masonry was ideal to create a religious building of permanence that required minimal maintenance, but still allowed the circular design elements of the interior and exterior walls to be displayed as significant parts of this edifice.