Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Capacity: 450 seats
Area: 5,500 sf
Construction: Wood and steel main-framed with concrete first floor slab and mech. Floor above Gathering Space. Stucco exterior finish and flat built-up roof. Large tinted glass pyramid skylight
Construction cost: 1,100,000
Date of completion: 1991
Background
Entering the City of Las Vegas Nevada on the elevated freeway from the west, east-bound traffic displays a dramatic view of the downtown from a distance with the beige mountains behind. A dark glass pyramid, topped with a cross, protrudes above the tile roofs of houses in the neighborhood. It is a scene reminiscent of Gothic revival steeples showing above the trees in New England villages and cityscapes.
For many years, the empty property along S. Rancho Drive in front of the original buildings, along the side street, Mesquite Avenue, provided ground for several Elms and frequently mowed Bermuda Grass. High excitement grew from the congregation as the Parish Council decided after many years, to build the long-anticipated Sanctuary.
The unique feature about the First Christian project is that it was the first use of the “community workshop” approach to programming and planning. Though planned to last three weekends, the workshop lasted only three full days: a weekend and a following Saturday. The concept was uncomplicated and appeared very fast. It was simply that this congregation was literally ‘wrapped around Jesus Christ”. After tours of several buildings in Phoenix which incorporated details that appealed to a group of parishioners who accompanied me on the visit, the design was basically set.
Project Images
About the Design
The existing single story, wood-framed buildings on site were old and worn, and the decision was made not to change or remodel them so an arcade was planned to be built in front of the buildings, along the parking, to protect church goers from the sun. The end of the arcade signaled the entrance to the gathering space which served the main sanctuary, a small galley and a niche for built-in seating and a small library for children reading during services, and access to the rest rooms with infant changing facilities. Speakers from the worship space penetrated the ceiling above to bring music and the Word to parents and children. What was called a Narthex in many existing churches is now the Gathering Space, large enough to accommodate the worshippers leaving services, so that families and children could congregate inside and work their way to their cars.
A floor-to-ceiling glass wall separates the Gathering Space and Worship Space, which provides seating for 450. Seating forms a half-circle of white oak pews, stained to integrate with the wall colors and organ furniture, around the Eucharistic Table. The table is placed on a raised platform in front of a flat wall, directly centered under a large 35-foot high by 20 feet, triangular, ornamental glass image of Christ in the Desert. Geometrically, the window is the vertical side of a four-sided, heavily tinted, mirror glass pyramid. The window is set back from the face of the wall, so that wall planes radiate down and outward from the corners and edges of the glass to the front wall behind the table. As the programming workshop had required, the pew seating which curve around the image of Christ, is the dominant conceptual image of the space.
The table sits in the middle under the window. To the left, as you face the Table, is the choir band-box. To the right lies the full-immersion baptistery, exposed to view. Behind the table is a blank, white wall, accentuating the “Eucharist celebration” and the undistracted delivery of the Word from the pulpit to the left of the Table and viewing of the image of Christ.
Facing the south, the Las Vegas sun provides a dramatic background for the stained glass figure of Christ, which is double-tinted to softened the glare. In the evening, exterior lights mounted on the roof, shine through the stained glass image and reflects the Image of Christ onto the mirrored surface of the other three planes of the pyramid. The Choir assembly room, Dressing room for candidates for Baptism and storage, accessible to the sculpture court reside behind the Eucharist wall and under the ornamental window.
The floor plan of the Worship space is functionally flexible and provides places for several group configuration. A daily chapel, serving 35 seats, accessed from the Worship Space through a glass wall, which can be retracted to serve as overflow seating to the main space. Annexed to the daily chapel is a small, comfortable meditation chapel serving a small informal group or one individual. Floors, wall-hung benches and wainscot are carpeted. A skylight brightly gives access to the sky and illuminates the space.
Back outside, the sculpture court between the new building and the existing building is shaped to provide gatherings, access for the choir to the practice room in the existing building, access from the arcade in front to the rectory in back of the existing building.
Finally, as a general practice, since sound is of absolute importance to the religious experience, attention to acoustics, reverberation times for speech and music, etc. are a primary focus and usually affect the shape of the Worship space. Noise from HVAC is corrected by special duct baffling, especially in the return air plenum. Controlling vibration noise from the air handlers requires internal and external isolators and heavy concrete bases and isolation from the wood framing. First Christian is a good example of sensitivity to these issues. To maintain the quiet intimacy, required for prayer, the worship space is very quiet, even when the outside temperature exceeds 110 degrees, the space is full of worshippers and the AC is running continuously.
