Design Board recommends Naples Community Church stained‑glass as public art, asks for nighttime illumination

The Design Review Board recommended approval Thursday for a large stained‑glass installation on the south facade of Naples Community Church and asked the petitioner to commit to backlighting the work each evening to maximize public enjoyment.

Architect David Corbin and landscape designer Laura Patterson explained revisions to the church’s facade and grounds at 849 7th Avenue South and introduced the selected artist team, Casola Stained Glass. Ken Casola and Peggy Van Witt described a single integrated work composed of nine vertical panels — each roughly 5 feet by 25 feet — that read as a narrative from creation to the ascension, using mouth‑blown German glass. The team said most of the panels will be more translucent near the bottom and more opaque toward the top to control glare and legibility.

The petitioners said the final installation will be integrated behind an exterior laminated low‑E impact curtain wall. Corbin said the system will mount the stained‑glass on the interior face of the curtain wall with roughly a six‑inch spacing between the two glazed layers; that arrangement, he said, allows the assembly to meet local wind and hurricane requirements while preserving the stained‑glass as an interior art layer.

Board members pressed the team on how the exterior impact glass and low‑E coating might reduce daytime visibility of the stained glass from the sidewalk. Casola acknowledged that the curtain wall will add some reflectivity but said the choice of very clear exterior glazing and interior mounting will preserve day‑time visibility to a useful degree; he added the piece will be most luminous and legible at night when lit from inside. Corbin said the design team tested samples in real conditions and committed to lighting strategies to highlight color and detail while observing neighborhood lighting limits.

Planning staff recommended the installation meets the city’s criteria for public art — it is visible from the public right of way and is intended for public enjoyment — and suggested maximizing nighttime illumination. The board placed one condition when forwarding the recommendation to City Council: the stained‑glass should be illuminated from sunset to at least 11 p.m. during normal operation and may be lit later on special occasions (for example, Christmas Eve) subject to neighborhood feedback and existing lighting limits.

City Council, not the DRB, will decide whether the installation qualifies for reimbursement under the city’s public‑art program. Corbin said the church intends the commission to be publicly accessible and visible and that the stained‑glass will be maintained as part of the building’s features. The council decision on reimbursement is the next procedural step.