Work with Lake Forest Church began with an analysis of how to best the church’s undeveloped 20-acre tract on Gilead Road in Huntersville. The master plan showed a series of buildings wrapping a central “Great Lawn”. Under Huntersville zoning requirements, parking areas were pushed to the rear of the site and segregated into zones.
The first phase of building developed the site infrastructure including approximately half of the parking. Two linked buildings were also erected. The first is one story and contains administrative offices (near the streetfront) and children’s classrooms throughout the balance with a central lobby that separates older from younger children. One room, “The Quad” is designed to be configured through demountable partitions
as between one and four rooms. The second building, linked to the first with both an interior ramp/corridor and exterior arcade, contains a large lobby space with subdividing custom-designed barn doors to isolate classrooms. The 650-worship space adjacent features high levels of technology. An elevated slab in the rear anticipates a future balcony. Here is a church-produced video that featured animations provided by Barry.
(See Phase 2 below photos)
Role: Architect for master plan through construction for TRINITY ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING
The second phase of expansion was focused in two areas. The original adult worship space included an elevated slab across the rear of the room. This has now been developed with risers and theater seats to create a bona fide balcony and includes a more spacious and equipped AV/lighting control booth. To provide necessary egress for the 219 added people, existing window openings on either side of the balcony were expanded to create egress doors leading to new exterior stairs. These stairs, like the front of the balcony, utilize woven wire fence material in an industrial railing system in keeping with the existing vocabulary of the facility.
The other part of Phase 2 is composed of a new multipurpose building for children and youth worship, as well as periodic seminar series and other events. The project utilizes a pre-engineered metal building frame faced with two colors of face brick, EIFS, and horizontal siding in keeping with the existing Education and Administration Building. Inside the space offers a large central assembly space with a performance platform in one corner, storage for tables and chairs in another, and restrooms along the rear wall.
Role: Architect from schematic through construction for THOMAS H. HUGHES ARCHITECTURE
Other design studies: The church also contacted Barry at a number of points to commission studies. These illustrations and this animation are drawn from that work.
Barry A. Parks 