North Phoenix Baptist Church
Phoenix, Arizona
Seat Count: 3,000
Project type: Renovation
Opening: May 2005
Architect: Dick & Fritche Design Group
AD Scope: Auditorium Design, Acoustics,
Audio, Video and Lighting
North Phoenix was the first use of a large fan-shaped for a sanctuary space. It’s design was copied as a model across the country for decades. Built in the late 1970’s, the sanctuary did not include architectural or electrical provision for technical systems such as video projection and theatrical lighting to support many of the activities within the auditorium.
In addition, the weekly television broadcast required a great deal of equipment that had been retrofitted rather than built into the space and there was a desire to create more of a sense of community within the space.AD provided the basic design for the auditorium including seating and sightlines, acoustics, audio, video and lighting design for the project.
Changes to the seating layout removed the deep underbalcony--which was a space that felt disconnected from the main worship space. This provided the opportunity to integrate a control booth into the seating layout that didn’t obstruct sightlines.
Video projection screens were integrated into the front of the room replacing the drop down screen. Rear projection is much brighter in the space than the front projection system that had been functioning as an add on. We also made recommendations to reduce the high background noise levels which were coming from the HVAC systems.
