Leading architectural and design firm wins Worship Facilities 2016 Solomon Award for successfully helping Northstar Church with satellite campus expansion
Studio Four Design, a top architecture and design firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee that specializes in worship facilities, has won a Worship Facilities 2016 Solomon Award for their work on the Knoxville-based Northstar Church South Knoxville campus expansion.
The award was given in the category of Church Building Design – Traditional & Contemporary for a new addition and renovations to an existing church that would become a new 300 seat satellite campus for Northstar Church to serve the community in South Knoxville.
Northstar Church was able to merge with an established church that had an existing facility, but the old building was lacking in several key areas. The exterior of the building was dated and did not reflect their ministry, and the lobby space was small and inefficient, lacking the ability to provide a community and fellowship environment critical to the culture at Northstar Church’s West Knoxville main campus.
A before look at the building that would become Northstar Church before renovations began.
“Expanding to a new campus is a demanding project for any church,” said Stacy Cox, president of Studio Four Design. “You want to be able to find a location that works for your ministry, but just as importantly, you want to be able to keep the worship experience you offer and your church’s atmosphere consistent with what your congregation has come to expect – all the way down to the way your building looks and feels. For Northstar, it was vital that this new location convey the community and fellowship environment that makes their culture unique. This was even more important because the location they chose was an existing facility that belonged to an established church.”
The design solution offered by Studio Four Design including removing the front façade and steeple from the building and providing a 1,000 square foot addition to expand the lobby space and provide new restroom facilities. The addition features a large, inviting glass façade that faces the South Knoxville community. The exterior skin consists of new materials including metal panels and CMU and the existing brick was painted to introduce a new color scheme to the facility. A green canopy reflecting the church’s logo color provides an accent and identifies the points of entry into the building.
The Worship Facilities 2016 Solomon Award winning Northstar Church located in Knoxville, Tennessee, designed by Studio Four Design.
“By engaging with Studio Four Design on our expansion, we were not only able to solve our need for additional space in the lobby, but we were also able to create a new look and identity for the building that would reflect the Northstar culture,” said Scott Cagle, lead pastor at Northstar Church. “They even helped us renovate the children’s space to provide an exciting and engaging environment for kids and transform the traditional worship environment into a contemporary atmosphere with technology for simulcasting live programming from our West campus. We wanted to draw in those who were looking for something new and fresh in a church experience and Studio Four Design helped us successfully expand our ministry while keeping a steady focus on our goal.”
Since reopening as Northstar Church, the ministry has more than doubled its prior attendance and holds multiple weekly services.
The interior of Northstar Church in South Knoxville designed by Studio Four Design.
“We’re honored to receive this award and I can’t thank our team enough for their hard work on the project,” said Cox. “I especially want to thank Brian Russel and Jenna Wise, who were integral to the design solution for this project and Jenkins & Stiles, who served as the general contractor. This award will help to reinforce our reputation as worship facility design experts and will be something we can build on moving into 2017.”
For more information about the Worship Facilities Solomon Awards, visit http://www.worshipfacilities.com/awards/solomon_2016.
For more information about Studio Four Design, visit http://studiofourdesign.com.
About the Solomon Awards
The Worship Facilities Solomon Awards recognizes churches and their partners for excellence in facilities design, building expansion or remodeling, operation excellence, innovative use, and technical production. To learn more, visit http://www.worshipfacilities.com/awards/solomon_2016.
About Studio Four Design Inc.
Since 2002, Studio Four Design has served as a premiere architectural and interior design firm to the Greater Knoxville Area. Their guiding principal is Design Matters and their goal is to go beyond expectations to provide design solutions that positively impact their client’s lives and organizations. Their team has worked on a variety of projects over the last decade that includes: churches, educational facilities, restaurants, retail buildings, athletic venues and much more. Studio Four Design takes pride and dedication in all of their projects they serve. To find out more, call 865-523-5001 or visit http://studiofourdesign.com.
