The first runner-up in the light commercial division is an outstanding example of the beauty that can be achieved with ICF construction.

The Holy Cross Catholic Church, in Porterville, Calif., looks like an old mission church hundreds of years old, but is in fact a state-of-the-art, energy efficient, modern building.

“Our main focus of the church design was to pay homage to the ‘California Mission Style,’ and stay true to the visual aspects of the historic missions scattered along the west coast of California,” notes the architect. 

The owner had become converted to using ICFs for the new church after visiting a school project in Visalia, California built with Arxx.  So the brand was selected from the beginning

The general contractor is a member of St. Anne’s Parish and was also identified from the start.  However, like everyone else on the construction team, he had no previous experience with ICFs.  The GC, masonry contractor and architectural project manager all took the Arxx classroom training sessions together.

Designers used several techniques to maximize efficiency on the project.  The window openings and wall plate heights, for example, were designed to correspond exactly with the heights of the ICF courses.

Forms used on the exterior walls of the church have an eight-inch concrete core. With all interior & exterior wall finishes considered, the total wall thickness is more than 14 inches.

Mark Schneider, a former marketing manager for Arxx, notes, “This will greatly reduce the monthly operating costs of the church where heating and cooling is concerned.  ICFs also lend themselves to the acoustics within the church building envelope. This is advantageous to the spoken word, songs from the choir loft and the church organist as these are relayed thru the church sound system.

ICFs also helped resolve one of the most difficult design issues.  The complex steel trusses spanning the vaulted ceiling areas of the church are extremely heavy. Clear spans over the Nave and Transepts are 58 feet. Hip trusses over the Altar area span 82 feet.  Fortunetely, the reinforced concrete core of ICFs can easily support the weight of this steel.

The finished building is breathtaking. Custom stone work surrounds the altar area, window and door surrounds, and columns.  Bright Mexican tile work highlights the baptismal font.  Textured, stained  concrete floors add not only beauty to the space but also ease of maintenance.

            Upon completion in April 2006, the church held an open house.  Fr. Scott Daugherty commented, ““The open house went very well… There were many people, we lost count, but it was crowded. Some folks came from out of town. For instance, one man from Visalia spoke to a greeter and told him that he was not Catholic but saw the article on Channel 30 News. He came in at 5:30 pm, went into the church, got tears in his eyes, and stayed in the church until 8:30 pm. So many people, Catholic and non-Catholic, were moved emotionally. I’ve have never had an experience quite like the open house.”