Brentwood Deaf Chapel
Brentwood, Tennessee

Seat Count: 259
Project type: New Construction
Opening: December 2003
Client: Brentwood Baptist Church
Architect: HH Architects
Audio Installation: Spectrum Sound
Video Installation: Multi-Media Masters, Inc.
Lighting Installation: Bradfield Stagelighitng
AD Scope: Auditorium Design Input,
Acoustics, Audio, Video and Lighting

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Brentwood Deaf Chapel is the second largest Southern Baptist deaf church in the country. This 100 member fellowship is one of the first deaf churches to have a building designed specifically for deaf worship.

You might not expect a Deaf congregation to need a loudspeaker system; however, the room is designed with families in mind. Many Deaf individuals have parents, spouses or children who are hearing. The room supports the shared worship experience. In Brentwood’s Deaf Chapel, the pastor signs (ASL) and someone in the auditorium gives the audible translation into a microphone.

Tactile transducers are installed on the floor to reinforce the beat of the music to the deaf participants. An inductive loop system that works with many of the existing congregants’ hearing-aids to allow for assistive listening aid without the use of external equipment by the congregants. Before the new chapel, inflated balloons were often used so that participants could feel the vibration of the music.

Lighting is a very high priority to a deaf congregation since most of the communication is through sign language and reading of lips. The lighting is bright and even throughout the room and on the platform. For special events, ultra-violet lights (blacklights) are used to highlight the deaf performances of choir members wearing white gloves.

The video system is capable of displaying pre-produced information and live camera shots. Multiple camera positions, both manned and robotic, were designed for flexibility. Site constraints required a front projection system, so careful attention was paid to the required brightness of the projector to achieve a quality image.