Architectural board approves 45 West Lockwood church renovation with copper dormer roofs

The Webster Groves Architectural Review Board voted to approve proposed renovations at 45 West Lockwood, including new dormer roofs specified to be copper, after a public hearing and a period of board questions and clarifications.

The project architect, Deepika of Killeen Studio Architects, told the board the dormer roof material had been shown inconsistently in preliminary materials and confirmed, “It was shown incorrectly in the preliminary. We fixed that. It’s going to be copper because then it matches the existing roof.” Board members asked for several clarifications before the vote, including whether clerestory windows shown on the drawings include window grills, and how much clear pedestrian walkway would remain adjacent to existing street trees and the proposed pergola.

Board member Carol Dunkey noted a difference between the drawings and the rendering and said she wanted to verify the clerestory glazing detail. She also said she had walked the site and was “concerned that there’s not going to be a whole lot of room there, especially with that tree branches … those branches would be right in your face if there’s not enough clearance.” The architect pointed to an updated enlarged site plan and indicated the walkway would be about four-and-a-half to five feet clear between planting and the pergola.

David Yates asked whether stained-glass entry sidelights would be retained; the project team said the congregation is not attached to the small stained-glass windows over the entry and chose clear glass to maximize interior daylight. Dunkey reminded the board that an existing historic guideline encourages retaining the style and size of character-defining windows, and the project team said the primary large stained-glass window would be repaired and restored, while smaller transoms over the doors would not be retained.

The architect also said the team has completed sun/shade studies for the clerestory and is planning motorized shades; she identified Draper-brand motorized shades as the vendor under consideration.

After clarifications, a board member moved to approve the project with the dormer roof material clarified as copper; the motion passed with unanimous affirmative votes recorded by the board.

The board’s approval included no additional formal conditions beyond the material clarification; discussion items such as tree trimming, final clerestory grill detail and the location/size of the pergola were left to the applicant to address in final construction documents.