Creating Beautiful Spaces | Civium Architecture & Planning
Photos by JENNIFER GOETZ
Drone Photos by BRADEN DIMICK
In the case of one of Kansas’ newest structures and one of the largest churches in the state, the beautiful Immaculata Church in St. Marys — just northwest of Topeka about 30 minutes — took nearly six years to complete from start to finish.
Who are the architects behind this massive project? Topekan David Heit, AIA, and his small team at Civium Architecture & Planning, 1250 SW Oakley Ave, Suite 200, a local firm that just celebrated four years in operation in May by winning the Micro Building Beautiful Communities Enterprise Small Business Award from GO Topeka.
The Immaculata, at a little over 66,000 square feet in area and 112 feet tall, is the largest church that the Fraternal Society of St. Pius X has ever built anew. It was consecrated in May and is the most significant project Civium has done and the most costly, complex, and detailed undertaking Heit said he has ever been responsible for.
For Heit, who studied classical architecture and traditional urbanism at Notre Dame, the Immaculata was a dream project and a huge accomplishment for his team.
It also is a validation for him that traditional buildings can still be built today. “Very often, there are arguments out there from those that oppose continuing this type of building who say, ‘Well, the craftsmanship to do that has been lost. We don’t have the craftspeople who can do those things anymore; it can’t be done with machinery and technology. Or it’s too costly to do that; we can’t afford it,’” Heit said. “I think us accomplishing this project demonstrates to the naysayers that, no, it can still be built that way. It still has a relevant place in our contemporary society. To say it’s automatically more expensive to build traditionally isn’t necessarily true.”
FOCUS IS ON COMMUNITIES
With all projects Civium undertakes, their focus is on building communities, not just individual buildings. Civium believes architecture allows people to shape the world we want to live in, and good architecture elevates the human experience. The firm’s name was inspired by this philosophy. Civium is a Latin word meaning “for the citizens.”
“As a young firm in a town like Topeka, while we work on a wide array of projects and on all kinds of building types,” Heit said, “I formed the company with the idea that we’re trying to focus on working on churches, other church-related facilities, and other sorts of public, civic types of community institutions like schools and libraries.”
Prior to starting Civium, Heit, and the majority of his team were all working together at the Topeka office of Tevis Architects, a Kansas City-based firm. The core of Civium has been working together for at least seven years.
Another notable (and favorite) project many members of Civium contributed to is the 2015 remodel of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library that followed the late 1990s/early 2000s addition-renovation by famed New York architect Michael Graves.
One of the overarching expectations of the library administration, Heit said, was that they needed to modernize the building and bring it up to speed technologically to give people what they have come to expect when they go to the library. They also didn’t want to lose that very distinct Graves-style and Graves-feel in the building.
“I think my team and I feel, and I think the client feels, we were quite successful in keeping that Graves stamp on the building, yet transformed spaces to better suit the digital and technological climate we all live in and work in today,” he said.
Another notable project Heit and his fellow Civium architects tackled was developing residential lofts downtown at 718 and 720 Kansas Avenue while doing a historical rehabilitation.
“It was a lot of fun to balance creating spaces that were going to be enticing to people for the way we live today,” Heit said. “Providing the amenities that we all expect to be comfortable in our homes but preserving some of the detail, beauty and interest that makes living in old buildings and living in old homes so enticing to people still today.”
TRADE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Heit and his team won a Merit Award for Excellence with Distinction for Historic Rehabilitation from the Kansas Preservation Alliance for their work at the 718 S. Kansas Avenue Lofts.
As for the recent GO Topeka award Civium won in May, it was quite the surprise, Heit said.
“Doing what we do, we get the opportunity and privilege to work with a lot of other companies in this town — sometimes they’re startup businesses trying to find their first store or their first office, or sometimes they’re established businesses that are taking off and growing,” Heit said. “We’re continually amazed at the entrepreneurship and the effort and great ideas that are developing right here in our own community.”
“So, to be selected and honored for what we’re doing as a small architecture firm just makes it all the more meaningful when I’m acutely aware of what’s going on in our business community that’s certainly also worthy of being distinguished for what they’re doing.”
ON THE HORIZON
Now that the Immaculata is complete, Civium is in a bit of a transitional period, Heit said. After spending six years working on the Immaculata, he said, “I think I wake up each morning and look at myself, and go, ‘Oh wait, I’m not working on the Immaculata project — what am I doing?’”
Civium is fortunate to currently be working with several Topeka businesses to expand their facilities, Heit said, adding they have also been invited to submit their qualifications for the design of a large national shrine church in the mid-Atlantic part of the country. While it’s too soon to predict what might come of that, Heit said, “It’s exciting to be recognized so quickly for the work we did and what we accomplished with the Immaculata. We are hopeful that’s exactly the type of project that will bring us more good things to keep us growing and moving forward.”
