Old Mar Thoma Church Restoration
Restoring a century-old community church in Karuvatta, Kerala
Location: Karuvatta, Kerala, India
Year: 2022
Type: Church restoration
Role: Documentation, design proposal, revised renovation drawings, site-stage coordination
Client: Church community
Status: Proposal developed for discussion and formal approval
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Karuvatta Mar Thoma Old Church is a century-old village church in Kerala, used for Sunday mass, funeral services, and community gatherings. When the church community approached me, the building was in a deteriorated condition, with damaged plaster, exposed services, poor ventilation, and visible weathering across the façade and roof structure.
The initial proposal explored side extensions to increase capacity. After budget discussions with the church committee, the project was revised into a more focused restoration strategy: retaining the existing structure, repairing the building envelope, improving openings, renewing the facade, and upgrading the church into a safer and more dignified space for continued community use.
Existing condition
The church had strong community value, but years of weather exposure had left the building in poor condition. The front façade showed heavy staining, peeling plaster, and surface damage, while the interior had ageing roof trusses, exposed services, and limited ventilation and lighting.
Design Challenge
The community wanted to preserve the old church rather than abandon it, while also improving its appearance, safety, and everyday usability. The first design explored additional side extensions to increase capacity, but the available budget required the scope to be reduced.
The final approved proposal focused on restoring the existing structure, renewing the façade, improving the entrance, and upgrading the building for continued use. This involved more than visual repair. Damaged timber roof members had to be assessed and reworked, existing walls had to be carefully repaired, and new openings were introduced to improve light and ventilation.
Because much of the building relied on its existing masonry walls, every new door and window opening had to be planned carefully. Drawings, structural coordination, and site decisions were needed to ensure that the church could be repaired and improved without weakening the original structure.
Process
The renovation addressed damaged roof members, cracked and peeling plaster, exposed wiring, plumbing issues, and insufficient light and ventilation. New openings and service upgrades had to be planned carefully because much of the building load was carried by the existing masonry walls. Lintel beams were introduced above new door and window openings before the walls were fully opened, helping maintain structural stability during the renovation.
Before / after transformation
The completed renovation restored the church’s identity as a visible community landmark, while keeping the scale, roof form, arched openings, and familiar spatial character of the original building.
Reflection
For me, this project was an early lesson in working with real constraints: community expectations, limited budgets, ageing construction, and decisions that had to be resolved on site. Since this was a community-led project, the process also involved listening to different opinions, explaining design choices realistically, and helping the group arrive at a direction that was both meaningful and feasible.
More than producing a new design, the task was to help an existing building continue its role in the life of the community. It strengthened my understanding of architecture as a process of negotiation, repair, trust-building, and practical decision-making.