Hillcrest Church
Dallas, Texas
Seat Count: 1,800
Project Type: New Construction
Opening: August 2001
Construction Cost: $13 million
Architect: Beck Architecture
A/V Installation: ASC Companies
AD Scope: Auditorium Design, Acoustics,
Audio, Video and Lighting
The interdenominational Hillcrest Church of Dallas added a new sanctuary to their existing campus to accommodate the 5,000 members and regular attendees that call the church home. The church offers traditional Sunday morning services where the worship is led by the orchestra and choir and a contemporary Saturday night service where worship is led by praise singers and a band.
AD worked with Beck Architecture to design an auditorium which accommodated this flexibility. The stage was designed to accommodate the large orchestra and a permanent choir loft was located at the back of the platform. This large area works well for the Sunday morning service but needed to be visually scaled down for the contemporary service. AD designed the platform area to include a curtain which would conceal the stage area but provide enough forestage for the contemporary service.
Preaching was a primary priority in the design of the room. The stage thrusts out to bring the preacher close to the congregation, and seating wraps around to provide visual intimacy.
There are a series of downstand fins that are out of view above the "visual" ceiling that improve the acoustics and provide acoustical support assist in congregational singing. There is also a unique ceiling design over the choir so they get natural acoustical support, which they need, and which is not needed or provided over the rest of the platform.
The audio system is an LCR system which will be implemented in stages to defer costs. The current system is a center cluster, high quality mono system. The left and right clusters will be installed in the future as funding is available.
The video screens are also designed for future upgrades. The current screens are 3:4, but the frame out will accommodate 16:9. Video monitors for the choir will also be added.
