Redeemer Presbyterian Church
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Architecture
Interior Design
Programming
Signage Design
Site Planning -
Adaptive Reuse
Enhanced Site Accessibility
Heat Island Effect Mitigation
Light Pollution Reduction
Low Maintenance Materials
Passive Building Envelope -
Completed November 2015
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Memphis, Tennessee
This is the long-awaited new home for the Presbyterian Church in Midtown Memphis. Since its founding, the congregation has worshiped in a school auditorium, away from its office in a leased tenant space. To meet their modest budget, the design concentrates the budget on the worship space and the building’s exterior relationship to the street, making minimal improvements to back-of-house spaces.
A reinvigorated abandoned building becomes a new home for a young congregation, enhancing their presence and permanence within the community.
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The exterior of the design project consists of a few thoughtful interventions that generate an active presence along the street and establish an entry sequence. These include the addition of a weathering steel parapet, a low site wall that bounds an outdoor gathering space along the street and a large front window. A relationship between the new outdoor gathering space and the interior gathering space reinforce a welcoming atmosphere.
One enters the space beneath a low ceiling of acoustical, highly textural tectum panels before the space opens up to deck, maximizing the height of the low structure. Overhead, north-facing light monitors populate the space, emphasizing the feeling of height and affording glimpses of sky and natural light to every member of the congregation. The low tectum ceiling returns at the stage, accentuating the pulpit with a single penetration of natural light.
Sealed MDF 'light-givers' also populate the space. These window boxes filter light from southern openings. Similar handmade light fixtures activate a tectum ceiling, and the light monitor liners funnel natural light to the congregation. These strategies work together to heighten the worship experience.
The crown responds to many conditions with a singular, albeit dynamic, form. To the south and east, the crown cantilevers over glazed studio walls shading windows from direct light. To the northeast and above the arched entry, its height reaches a pinnacle bringing prominence to the façade at the entrance.
