Design Inspiration

You might say Joseph Woollett was born to design churches. His father was an architect. His grandfather was, too. And his great-great-grandfather drew up plans for Baptist and Catholic churches in 19th-century Albany, N.Y. Woollett, who has worked on more than a dozen religious buildings since 1984, tries to make each one express the vision of its parishioners. For this Coptic Orthodox church in Santa Ana, Calif., he selected giant arches to represent the congregation's sense of a caring God. To get inspiration for his projects, Woollett attends services, joins in activities--even sings in the choir. "It can be an important faith process for the people of the church, trying to decide who they are as a religious group," he says. "It becomes almost like a pilgrimage."