WHO WE ARE
Neumann/Smith Architecture is comprised of creative problem solvers driven by pushing boundaries.
We value learning- from each other, from previous projects, and from our clients.
Since 1968 our firm has designed for practically every market sector, from higher education and workplace, to hospitality and mixed-use—and numerous others in between. Our talented team pulls from this diverse experience to develop unique designs, ensuring our team is always challenged and our clients’ goals are achieved.
At our offices in Southfield and Detroit, we work together in open and flexible studio teams under the hands-on leadership of Principals and Associates who have been with Neumann/Smith for decades. Our emphasis on mentorship results in well-rounded professionals who learn from—and with—each other every day.
THE NEUMANN/SMITH TEAM BY THE NUMBERS / years of experience
locations
religious projects
average years with n/s
joel smith, president / aia, ncarb gene carroll, exec. vp / aia, ncarb, leed ap
stan cole, vp / aia, leed ap
mike west, vp aia, leed ap
melanie johnson, cfo
NAME / neumann/smith architecture
MAILING ADDRESS / 400 galleria officentre, suite 555, southfield, mi 48034
CONTACT INFO / 248.302.4678 / scole@neumannsmith.com
YEAR OF INCORPORATION / 1968
MARKET EXPERIENCE / religious spaces, workplace, multi-family, retail, hospitality, higher education, mixed-use, community
EXPERIENCE
ST. KENNETH CHURCH
plymouth, mi
ST. KENNETH
DETAILS / 18,719 sf STATUS / completed 2019
Since 1967, the St. Kenneth Catholic Community has faithfully served the Plymouth Township community, and with 2017 proudly marking the golden jubilee of celebration and service for the church, a new expansion and renovation ensures their presence in the community for the next 50 years and beyond.
Driven by a desire to provide a comfortable and accessible spiritual home for its parishioners, the design of the two new wings at the Church’s entrance encompasses a great respect for the existing architecture and through the integration of the old and the new a cohesive and lasting vision was created. The new wings are angled to create welcoming “arms” that gently guide visitors into gathering. Furthermore, in conjunction with the two peaks of the existing building, the iconic new entry design features a heroic peak, symbolically completes the holy trinity.
The centerpiece of this project is the expansion of the sanctuary seating capacity from 600 to 900 seats, allowing for future church growth as well as greater opportunities to serve community needs. The sanctuary also received many upgraded amenities, including new pews, lighting, flooring, and an expanded altar to serve a larger parish. Additionally, a large gathering space for 300 people, multipurpose rooms, and vastly expanded restroom facilities are important parts of the transformative renovation. A heavy timber structural and curtainwall system will be used to connect the existing sanctuary with the new gathering space providing a warm, contextually appropriate visual connection that accentuates the lofty volumes in both spaces.
This project is the first successful phase of a master plan created by Neumann/Smith and will serve as a guide to the parish as they continue to grow and will transform the current campus into a better spiritual home for worship, education, and outreach in the future.
livonia, mi
ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
DETAILS / 3,000 sf addition
STATUS / completed 2020
Upon entering their Diamond Jubilee, the parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel decided to celebrate their 75-year old history with a substantial expansion and renovation of their church building to suit the gathering and worshiping needs of their growing parish.
Built in 1961, the St. Michael the Archangel Church building is an iconic landmark within the City of Livonia. The building is an outstanding representation of a Bermuda roof Architectural style and one of only a few buildings in the region of this style. The design challenge was to design a prominent, uplifting front entrance and gathering space that met the Church’s programmatic needs while respecting the existing Architectural style.
Among the parish’s top priorities was increasing the amount of gathering space in the narthex as well as creating a plaza in front of the church building for socializing outdoors during the warmer months. The upgraded narthex is sized to fit 300+ people comfortably and is designed as a welcoming, lofty two-story space with ample glass, allowing natural light to flow into the space. The new addition to the church also features vastly improved toilet rooms, a bridal suite, a children’s room, a vestment suite, an usher’s room, and a kitchenette.
A key aspect of the renovation was to keep the choir loft intact to avoid the laborious and costly process of relocating the church organ during construction. The choir loft was acoustically sealed, prohibiting sound traveling between the nave and the narthex. Salvaged stained glass lines the exterior of the narthex, as a reminder of the original architecture of the church.
In the nave, several pews were removed to increase the size and height of the chancel, allowing the congregation more visibility of the front of the church and more room for the pastor to move around during his homilies. The backdrop of the sanctuary has also been redesigned to give it a fresh contemporary look that matches the aesthetic of the new addition.
plymouth, mi
OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL
DETAILS / 40,000 sf STATUS / completed 2015
In order to fulfill the needs of the growing parish, the Archdiocese of Detroit decided that it was time for Our Lady of Good Counsel to expand its campus.
The two-story addition, designed to harmonize with the existing structure, includes a state-of-the-art gymnasium with a communal walking track, child-care facilities, a teen activity room, multiple meeting rooms, a reception area for gatherings and celebrations, a cafe, and a kitchen/ concessions stand.
The new, 300-seat gymnasium is the heart of the addition. Site grading and topography proved challenging as the existing structure rests on the top of a hill. To off-set this, our team designed a structure that nestles into the side of the slope.
On top of the gym, the main floor classrooms are designed around the perimeter of the structure, allowing for daylight into the space and offering beautiful views of the woodlands behind the campus.
The cohesive design allows for the ease of additional classrooms to be added in the future, as it is OLGC’s goal to move additional campus functions to this location.
novi, mi
OAK POINTE CHURCH
DETAILS / 250,000 sf
STATUS / completed 2007
Completed in six phases, Oak Pointe Church offers a 250,000 sf facility with an additional classroom wing, a 3,000-seat auditorium, a 300-seat chapel, a bookstore and library.
Design studies resulted in a development that nicely complements the growth along Ten Mile Road. The church was designed to be ‘woven-in’ to the fabric of the neighborhood for the physical and spiritual enrichment of the community and to be a vital cultural and institutional center for the City of Novi. A diverse building skin, dramatic angles and planes, and an engaging tapestry of color and materials create a stunning space that inspires fellowship.
Entering through a low angled metal canopy, the building balloons into a two-story space featuring a baptismal font and fountain. The cavernous multi-purpose room is a chameleon-like space able to house a basketball game, a volleyball tournament or a Sunday worship service. The room’s specialty carpeting is actually a playable surface marked by the pattern of a basketball court. Peeling back small sections of carpet grants access to floor outlets for installation of volleyball nets. As game day gives way to Sunday, acoustical drapes on curtain tracks cover the brick walls, seating obscures the lines of a basketball court, and the room’s sophisticated sound and lighting system converts the room into a worship space filled with contemporary music and theatrical lighting. Arcs of soft seating and low counters subtly subdivide the massive gathering space into coffee-and-donut sections, orientation areas, and quiet places to converse.
bloomfield township, mi
CONGREGATION B’NAI MOSHE
detroit, mi
ISAAC AGREE DOWNTOWN SYNAGOGUE
STATUS / completed 2023
As Detroit’s only free-standing synagogue, the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue welcomes a diverse group of individuals in the Metro Detroit Jewish Community. The revitalized synagogue provides an inclusive space for events, work, and worship alike, furthering their commitment to the community.
The synagogue blends professional, community, and worship spaces, with the objective of creating one cohesive space while celebrating each facet of the programming. Reinventing how the spaces would function, the new design welcomes a multi-generational congregation while honoring the history of the building. It harnesses the building’s unique, triangular shape to meet the congregation’s needs, creating intimate spaces on the narrow north side and utilizes the south side for gathering spaces.
The redesigned front entry replaced the original brick façade with windows. Wood paneling was removed from the interior to display painted brick and raw materials of the ceiling. The lobby is now an inviting space featuring local art and an array of seating. Natural light floods the space, highlighting the stained glass lining the windows along the street front. The second-floor sanctuary features original floor-to-ceiling-stained glass, ensuring privacy while bathing the space in color.
PROJECT LIST / COMMUNITY + RELIGIOUS
Our Lady of Good Counsel / 40,000 sf, two-story addition to include gym, track, childcare, meeting rooms, kitchen, and gathering spaces, Plymouth, MI
St. Kenneth Catholic Community / Expansion from 600 to 900 seats with new wings , upgraded amenities, and multipurpose rooms / Plymouth, MI
St. Michael the Archangel Church / 3,000 sf addition to 1960s structure to increase gathering spaces, bridal suite, children’s room, vestment suite, usher’s room + kitchenette, Livonia, MI
Oak Pointe Church / 250,000 sf facility with an additional classroom wing, a 3,000-seat auditorium, a 300-seat chapel, a bookstore and library.
The Salvation Army, Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center / 100,000 sf, not built, East Detroit, MI
Archdiocese of Lansing, St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church / 25,000 sf, Brighton, MI
Christ Church Grosse Pointe / 34,500 sf expansion + renovation, Grosse Pointe, MI
First Baptist Church of Canton / 19,000 sf addition, Canton, MI
Adat Shalom Synagogue / Sanctuary + chapel renovation, Farmington Hills, MI
Congregation Shaarey Zedek / Sanctuary renovations, Southfield, MI
Congregation Beth Ahm / West Bloomfield, MI
Temple Beth El / Bloomfield Township, MI
Michigan Jewish Institute / West Bloomfield, MI
Friendship Circle / 18,000 sf expansion including art studio, gallery, banquet hall and cafe, West Bloomfield, MI
Akiva Expansion / Southfield, MI
Camp Ruth at the Jewish Community Center / West Bloomfield, MI
Harry and Wanda Zekelman Campus - Lubavitch Cheder and Yeshiva / Oak Park, MI
Alan and Lori Zekelman Yeshivas Darchei Torah / Girls School, Southfield, MI
Frankel Jewish Academy / 50,000 sf expansion + 20,000 sf renovation of Jewish Community Center, West Bloomfield, MI
Hillel Day School / 19,924 sf gymnasium + performance center addition, Farmington Hills, MI
Congregation Mesivta-Toledo / West Bloomfield, MI
Berman Center for the Performing Arts / 17,500 sf Jewish Community Center, West Bloomfield, MI
Holocaust Memorial Center / 50,000 sf museum including memorial flame, historic boxcar + Anne Frank exhibits, reflection and exhibition spaces, bookstore, gift shop, and conference center, Farmington Hills, MI
Holocaust Memorial Center / Renovation of exhibits and galleries in honor of 20-year anniversary, Farmington Hills, MI
Temple Shir Shalom / 40,000 sf, West Bloomfield, MI
Jewish Family Service Headquarters / 35,000 sf, West Bloomfield, MI
Mishkan Israel / Addition + renovation, Oak Park, MI
Max Fisher Conference Center / Bloomfield, MI
Adat Shalom Synagogue / 10,000 sf sanctuary and chapel renovation, Farmington Hills, MI
Congregation Shaarey Zedek / Renovations, Southfield, MI
Hillel Day School / Shiffman Chapel renovation, Farmington Hills, MI
Alfred Taubman Entrance Jewish Community Center / Oak Park, MI
Congregation B’nai Moshe School / 10,000 sf addition + Cantor Klein Chapel, West Bloomfield Township, MI
OHR Somayach World Headquarters / Oak Park, MI
Temple Beth El / 11,766 sf, Flint, MI
Temple Kol Ami Expansion/ West Bloomfield, MI
Congregation Shir Tikvah Synagogue, Troy, MI
Congregation B’nai Moshe Synagogue / 30,000 sf, West Bloomfield Township, MI
Hillel Day School Addition and Renovation / 45,000 sf, Farmington Hills, MI
Michigan State University Hillel / Lansing, MI
Jewish Community Center / West Bloomfield, MI
Temple Beth El / Flint, MI
Young Israel of Southfield Synagogue /Southfield, MI
Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center / Oak Park, MI
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Headquarters / Bloomfield Township, MI
