Grace Midtown Church, Atlanta
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT: Kronberg Urbanists Architects
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS: Sylvatica and Scapes
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Stability Engineering
MEP ENGINEER: Proficient Engineering
CIVIL ENGINEER: Flippo Civil Design
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Derucki Construction
ACOUSTICAL CONSULTANT: Acustica
AUDIO, VISUAL, LIGHTING DESIGN: Pendley Productions
MATERIALS
The following is a sampling of materials used in the project:
WATERPROOFING: Permaquik by Tremco
ACOUSTICAL VIBRATION SEISMIC CURBS: MGM Products
ACOUSTIC INSULATION: International Cellulose Corp.
ALUMINUM AND GLASS OVERHEAD DOORS: Haas Door COUNTERTOPS: Caesarstone
STOREFRONT WINDOWS: Frame by Kawneer with AGC Energy Select Glass WINDOW SHADES: Mechoshade
THE RETROFIT
In 2012, Grace Midtown Church purchased a former industrial property 1-mile northwest of downtown Atlanta. Formerly the home of a demolition contractor, the site included three warehouse buildings with an attached 2-story building, all built incrementally in the early 1960s. After minimal renovation of three of the four buildings, the site operated as a campus for the church with dedicated spaces for holding services and events, a child-care facility and offices. The fourth and largest building was left unrenovated, to be upgraded when more space was needed and funds were available.
Four years later, with a growing congregation and an evolving slate of programming, church representatives sought to renovate a warehouse and the attached 2-story office building. In addition to adapting the industrial building to a new event space, the surrounding site, covered entirely with asphalt or gravel, also needed major improvements. The renovated building would contain a new state-of-the-art auditorium space capable of seating 1,000 visitors, administrative offices, meeting spaces, and the surrounding site needed to provide inviting and flexible outdoor spaces.
The 200-foot-long by 75-foot-wide warehouse building was not inherently suited to be an event space: The interior was dark and sightlines were limited by the proportions of the space. To solve both problems, the design team proposed raising the middle portion of the warehouse roof, creating much-needed height and introducing natural light into the space via large clerestory windows on three sides of the new roof “pop-up.”
To preserve interior sightlines, large custom- fabricated steel trusses were designed to clearspan the full width of the building, maintaining an open floor plan and eliminating visual obstructions. The open event space was organized directly underneath the pop-up with wings on either side for additional seating. Bathrooms, meeting rooms, a recording room, family room and storage were placed at the extreme ends of the building. A large doorway opens into the lower level of the 2-story building, which now contains a café. The upper level houses administrative offices and additional meeting rooms. New openings were cut into the upper-level exterior walls to bring in natural light and provide views into the courtyard.
Outside, a covered patio runs the full length of the event space, and large garage doors allow for seamless connection between interior and exterior. A landscaped courtyard is enclosed on three sides by the 2-story building, event space and a new covered patio at the far end. Steel bar joists from the removed portion of the existing warehouse roof were saved and reused in the structure of new steel canopies over the exterior patios.
The church now is better equipped to welcome and engage with the surrounding community, not only because of the enhanced facilities, but also because of the connection to the adjacent Atlanta Beltline trail.