By Thomas White

St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Catholic Parish in Foley, Ala., sits just12 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico along a path chosen by numerous hurricanes over the years.

In September 2004, Foley was hit by Hurricane Ivan, at one point a Category Five storm with gusts topping 155 mph. “The eye of the storm passed directly over Foley,” recalls Rev. Paul Zoghby pastor of St. Margaret. “There was damage, but I think everyone recognized it could have been much worse.”

Following the event, Rev. Zoghby and his building committee assembled a team of dedicated professionals with proven track records who understood the challenge of building in a hurricane zone and are passionate about their roles in the process. This was especially important to the church group because they wanted a traditional look with large stained glass windows.

“We were looking for someone good—the best. I’ve always felt it’s not really a church without stained glass windows and we wanted to have 19 of the most beautiful windows you’ll ever see. The stained glass windows are the piece de resistance; it’s what everyone is going to notice first about the church and remember long afterwards,” says Rev. Zoghby.

St. Margaret enlisted the aid of architect Dan Michal of Hatch Mott MacDonald, who literally wrote the book on church construction. Michal, co-author of the 1999 Firm Foundations: An Architect and a Pastor Guide Your Church Construction, quickly divined what the good people of St. Margaret Parish were looking for.

Tradition Updated
“They were looking for a very traditional, oldworld, cathedral cruciform (shaped like a cross),” explains Michal. “It’s a worship space, a celebration space. A church is different from an office building. The feelings are stronger; it simply means more to people. Central to all of this are the stained glass windows.”

Because the windows were a critical element, the building committee devoted significant research in selecting the source. Arch Aluminum & Glass Co. Inc. was chosen to fabricate the unique stained glass windows, which are outfitted with rebuilt metal frames, including one for the main processional hall at St. Margaret that measures 1077/8 x 1645/8 inches, a dozen sized 87 x 1711/4 inches, four at 34 x 681/2 inches and two more at 471/2 x 119 inches. The dozen large windows, measuring more than 14 feet in height, include all or parts of 15 separate lites of glass cut specifically and precisely to fit their openings.

Arch is based in Tamarac, Fla., 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. “One of the reasons we selected Arch is because they have first-hand knowledge about hurricane-force winds,” says Rev. Zoghby.

Contemplating worst-case scenarios, the Arch 3100 impact framing system was selected because it was born out of just such considerations. It consists of laminated glass, aluminum framing, silicone gaskets and anchors. The system was designed to meet or exceed the Miami-Dade Impact Codes, the most stringent in the nation, and was updated to meet the requirements of the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone of the 2004 Florida Building Code (FBC) standards for large missile and small missile impact.

According to Jeff Ziesche, Arch’s director of aluminum operations, “We’ve been involved since November 2006, right from the design stage of the project. There were some significant design challenges. We worked with the church committee, addressing their aesthetic concerns. They were interested in keeping a traditional look, while we made sure they could meet the necessary codes and standards.”

The 15/16-inch insulating laminated glass includes a ¼-inch fully-tempered inboard lite as well as ¼-inch outboard and inboard heatstrengthened panes, along with a .090 polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer, and a bronze, anodized, Archkote 1000 powder coating custom finish.

The framing system consists of a 2¾ x 4½ inch vertical and horizontal aluminum mullions with removable glass stops. Custom extruded muntins with a 1-inch profile were used.

Sustainable Construction
In the true practice of sustainable construction, the St. Margaret’s committee chose to re-use existing stained glass rather than order new material. The church enlisted the help of Joe Beyer, cofounder of Beyer Studio Inc. in Philadelphia, which specializes in the adaptive reuse of architectural stained glass.

The stained glass for the St. Margaret’s windows date from before World War I. They most recently had adorned Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Philadelphia. When that church was forced to close its doors, Beyer Studio, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, set out to reclaim the windows.

From the time the first blueprints were drawn  up, to the day ground was broken in February 2007 and right on up through to today, Rev. Zoghby and St. Margaret’s Parish have been intent on preserving and extending a legacy that dates back better than a century.

The new church, the third in the history of the parish, seats 750 comfortably, more than tripling the capacity of the previous structure. A state-ofthe- art complex, it has roots firmly entrenched in the past. And the crowning glory, of course, is the series of 19 stained glass windows, originally manufactured in Munich, Germany, in 1915, and now installed with protection from whatever wrath is sent its way.

Architects' Guide to Glass & Metal
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