St. John the Evangelist is affiliated with the Antiochian Orthodox Church of North America and has been holding services in Orinda since 1978. The congregation had outgrown their existing facilities and desired to build a new Fellowship Hall, large enough to seat 300, for celebrations and gatherings. The new building would also need to be flexible enough to also serve as the Sanctuary on holy days such as Easter, where the number of worshippers would exceed the capacity of the existing church. 

 

Inspired by the traditional residential architecture of the Levant, the building has a simple rectangular form and a hipped roof. The architecture emphasizes honest and durable materials: the exterior walls are clad in a limestone rain-screen; the windows are framed in stain-grade mahogany and zinc tiles form the roof. At the entrance, the stone cladding transforms into a faceted screen to direct the worshippers to gather and celebrate their faith.