Functioning as a "community" church.  The congregation has historically wanted the building to be life giving to the community.  Unlike many church buildings in San Francisco, the congregation wanted to have a vital, active building.  Ideas emerged, such as having a welcoming ground floor entry visible from the street, offering community group meeting space and rehearsal space, providing a weekday chapel for persons needing prayerful refuge, and offering a space for special community events such as memorial services, marriages and union ceremonies.

Without hesitation, the congregation took a “Leap of Faith” in accepting the challenge of continuing urban ministry.  By choosing to provide a place of community and reflection in the heart of a business area, we demonstrated our commitment to the heart of San Francisco.  Our new home is only two blocks from San Francisco's historic California Street cable cars.

Recently, the congregation also presented the plans to the Lower Polk Neighbors and this was warmly received. We have invited business owners and residents to open houses to present our plans and invite input.  We also participated in the Polk Street Fair, and held an open house, presenting our design concepts for visitors.

Being "open" to all.  The congregation was strongly intentional about being open to all, as it has been with its long-time welcoming of all people regardless of sexual orientation and encouragement of a multi-cultural membership.  The church adopted an "open and affirming" statement in the 1980's and was one of the first UCC churches in the nation to adopt this.

For this building, particular emphasis was placed on the symbolism of an open corner with oversized doors, the opening of a daytime chapel during office hours, being entirely wheelchair accessible, and providing mission spaces for activity such as the San Francisco Night Ministry (who we have hosted for over 20 years).  The congregation enabled the design to function well for weddings, union ceremonies, funerals and other important community events appropriate for church space.  The design also was developed to offer different venues for ceremonies and to host receptions of varying sizes in adjacent spaces.

Linking nature in our space.  As a congregation interested in experiencing God in all of life, we celebrate the presence of what God has given us, and how we should celebrate God's gifts responsibly.  The congregation directed that our space should have lots of light, strategically placed greenery inside and outside the building, an outdoor garden/patio off the sanctuary, natural ventilation and the ability introduce solar power.

Keeping history alive.  As one of the original SF protestant churches, the congregation was intentional in providing linkages to the past.  This includes archiving of historic documents, restoration of historic furniture, and creation of spaces within the building to commemorate our forebears -- important figures in the history of San Francisco.  First Congregational Church is featured on the Barbary Coast Trail, with a marker in Portsmouth Square designated where the first church service was held.  The church has met with the Foundation for the Preservation of San Francisco's Architectural Heritage and isincorporating their suggestions into our design process.

• This building was of minor significance, inconsistent in architectural character when compared to surrounding buildings, and substantially modified over the decades.  The existing building was classified as a “C” building in a citywide inventory, with the cornice on the front and a band of molding near top being the most notable – not much to save.
• As the buildings on this corner are currently, there is a visual void with our building because it is one story high and each of the other three corners has multistoried structures of at least 60 feet.  The church design would need to balance the roof line with the the new city garage across the street and new dwellings approved next door, creating a visual “completeness” to the area.
• The building code required seismic updates (as an unreinforced masonry building), and had several constraints for wheelchair access.
• The existing building was also unable to meet the strategic design requirements without ruining its character and storefront "pedestrian street" orientation.  In particular, the second level would need to be a facade above the original facade, creating an architecturally unattractive appearance and destroying the historic character of the building.
• The basement would not be deep enough for useful community space, so that the foundation holding up the ground floor walls would have to be excavated in order to make the basement usable.
• Finally, the budget require to save the building exceeded the available resources of the congregation (note that the previous building had been sacrificed at a substantial value less as a result of its "Landmark" status).