Zion lost a pipe organ when our building at 9th and D burned down in 2007. When we moved into the current building, we used an older electronic organ and started an organ fund. In 2010, the Bedient Pipe Organ Company in Lincoln built an organ for Zion that used some new and some previously used components. The craftsmen and designers at Bedient worked with Heather Keele, a Zion member who is an architect, to fashion a custom instrument specially suited to the space and acoustics of our worship hall.
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Symbolism & Design Concept in Zion’s Organ Façade
By Heather Keele, NCARB
Registered Professional Architect
Unthank Design Group
December, 2010
Contemporary, yet timeless style, raw honesty in materials and the ability to view the mechanics as the music is produced are the major design concepts that influenced Zion’s pipe organ façade. The contemporary architecture of the sanctuary and the desire to have an organ to reflect that style shaped the design. The facade is a unique artistic element that also incorporates Christian attributes symbolically.
The Zion pipe organ contains reclaimed parts and pieces from many organs located across the country. The organ console and a collection of metal pipes were repurposed from the Boy’s Town auditorium in Omaha, NE. Two sets of pipes came from a church located in Sioux Falls, SD. The trumpet was previously used in Tulsa, OK and another set of pipes originated in Sacramento, CA. Some of the largest wooden pipes have been in storage at Bedient for many years. Nine sets of pipes are new and hand crafted by the Bedient pipe organ company from cast metal. The largest metal pipes were refurbished & painted with a metallic automotive paint. In total, the Zion pipe organ contains about 1400 pipes. The sizes vary from the largest, with a speaking length of over 10 feet, to the smallest which is the size of a pencil with a speaking length of less than an inch. These satin chrome pipes are striking set against dark mahogany stiles. The dark wood stiles reflect the wood trusses in the sanctuary, the trusses also inspired the use of similar ‘truss members’ in the base cabinet. The original church furniture design led to the use of similar dark wood ‘tops’ on the base cabinet for the organ facade. The size of the base cabinet was determined by the sizes of the Great & Swell, which needed to be concealed.
The decision to use the refinished wood pipes in the façade lead to a transitional two-tone wood scheme. Although these wood pipes were not intended to be used as face pipes, the intrinsic raw wood aesthetic with distinct grain & varying colors nicely contributed to the material palette. The honesty of the imperfect honey colored wood pipes contrasted nicely with the perfect dark mahogany, an interesting symbolic gesture representing man & our creator. The undulating, in-out, up-down rhythm of the wood pipes creates dimension & interest while providing a symbolic conceptualization of the physical worship experience through music.
The largest metal & wood pipes were used in the façade design. This provided for honesty in the design and accommodated their height. Every pipe in the facade is a working pipe, they all contribute musically. Set back slightly from the organ façade, the shutters that adjust for dynamics are visible.
Deliberate verticality of the dark wood stiles & silver pipes draw the eye up, heavenward. There is no ‘top’ to the organ façade, it reaches up – fingers outstretched. The dark wood stiles encase the metal pipes in groups of flats. The irregularity of the vertical arrangement of the flats creates visual interest within the façade while concealing utilitarian organ components. The trinity is symbolized in the center flat, three in one. There is only one set of pipes grouped in three. This is the center, the largest, the most prominent element – the role God plays in our lives.