The immense parish complex of St. Anthony of Padua negotiates between the consolation of tradition and the exigencies of contemporary planning requirements and construction systems. As at other neo-traditional architectural sites in The Woodlands (
TM8, TM9), symmetry, centrality, and figuration are employed to bring coherence and legibility to the complex. Budget limitations were used to advantage here, especially in the 1,500-seat church, where glue-laminated wood beams, a wood ceiling, a polished concrete floor, ample daylight, and views to the outside imbue the space with a measure of groundedness.