Holy Redeemer Catholic Church

Location: Vancouver

Owner/developer:Holy Redeemer Parish

Project team: Precision Construction Co., general contractor; Marion Construction, concrete contractor; Office OA, architect; Kramer Gehlen and Associates, structural engineer; CalPortland, ready-mix supplier

The 14,000-square-foot Holy Redeemer church, designed in a traditional cross-shaped layout, has an exposed concrete exterior to give it a simple, timeless appearance.

The church was built using more than 1,100 cubic yards of concrete and is topped with a 78-foot-high cupola.

The walls reach as high as 45 feet in some areas. Most were cast in two sections with engineered bracing to support their weight while the concrete was curing.

Intricate details and large-scale arched windows and entryways were incorporated into the design, making for challenging formwork and templates.

Cedar planks were attached to the wall formwork to create a board form look with cast-in-place concrete. A higher mortar factor in the mix produced a knotted and rustic-looking texture to the lower exterior walls.

To handle water from the roof, four concrete cisterns were placed above grade on the outside corners of the church.

The lower segments of the interior walls used steel studs as furring strips for the interior insulation and drywall finishes. In the upper portion of the interior walls no cladding was installed, exposing the concrete walls to the sanctuary.