Print Article     Email Article

Circles of Light - A look inside a WFX Solomon Award-winning facility

by Alison Istnick     Added May 02, 2008

As published in Worship Facilities, May/Jun 2008

Situated on a gently sloping hillside in Corona, California, Crossroads Christian Church is a model of destination architecture where “circles of light” are both an abundant visual and a way of ministry.

The design excellence demonstrated by this 2007 WFX Solomon Award-winning worship center and Christian school campus (a total of 60 acres) stands in sharp contrast to the area’s landscape of cookie-cutter homes and sprawling retail facilities. “This church,” points out Irvine, California-based Visioneering Studios’ President and Founder Mel McGowan, “was very vocal for the people who have never set foot in this facility or who are just driving by at 40 mph and would never think of stepping inside a church.” This intentional external focus or “architectural evangelism” is a concept that McGowan holds high and is one reason why Visioneering Studios was chosen to design Crossroads’ new facility.

The leadership at Crossroads, in response to the influx of commuters seeking affordable housing, wanted a more contemporary church model to attract the area’s growing population. The church also envisioned a community gathering place—one that would be representative of the city of Corona.

While searching for a theme that would incorporate the nuances of their ideas, Visioneering’s designers stumbled upon the meaning of the city’s name. According to McGowan, “The dictionary defines ‘corona’ as concentric circles of light around a luminous body. This ele-ment became a powerful idea to base the design around.”

Corona has been the home of Crossroads since its inception 115 years ago. Executive Pastor Mike Long, who joined the staff in the sum-mer of 2007, observes, “It’s an up-and-coming bedroom community—people commute to Orange, [Los Angeles], and San Bernardino County from here in Riverside County. We are at the middle … the crossroad to these areas. So, we wanted to create a forward-thinking church facility; one that would be other than work and home, the third place in their life.”

McGowan drew upon his experiences of growing up in Europe to create that physical place of community where Crossroads could wel-come the people of Corona. “In Europe the tallest structure in every village is always the church or cathedral. Even the smallest towns would have outdoor-type living room space at the foot of the church where townspeople could gather,” recalls McGowan. Thus, the cir-cle design element was dropped into the context of a postmodern European piazza.

The Topography
This piazza concept mirrored perfectly Crossroads’ paradigm shift from a once-a-week to a seven-day-a-week gathering place. It also became the thought behind the layout of Crossroads’ campus, which lies on an alluvial plane (a gently sloping land surface). The 80-foot drop from the back to the front of the property presented a challenge. “There was quite a bit of topography. The idea was not to create a bunch of ramps and institutional railings,” says McGowan. Foregoing the inclusion of massive retaining walls, Visioneering instead created a gently rolling plaza with different terraces that inclines subtly with the natural landforms. Another challenge was where to place core development. “Typically,” notes McGowan, “an architect will place the church building pretty far away from the street and have a big ocean of a parking lot separating them from the community; we kind of thought that ruined the emphasis of community.” Instead, Visioneering Studios developed an alternative idea of a metaphoric bridge linking the church and city together at the place where a parking lot might typically exist. This “bridge” or walkway was named the “candlewalk” in the master plan—a sensory garden path that extends out to the intersection where pedestrians can come over from a park across the street. The path uses various techniques to draw the eye. Lake Forest, California-based Newell Builders’ Brad Newell, president of the construction company hired to realize Crossroads’ vision, notes, “The walkway incorporates inlay pavers in a ‘heart-scape’ diamond pattern. They also used a Lithocrete—a process where colored concrete is impregnated with broken glass that lies flush with the pavement.” Along the blue-glass walkway are eddies, or natural pool-ing areas where people can break away for conversation. Boulders strewn strategically along turf plantings serve the site aesthetically and functionally as seating options. Along the way, several colorful cloth umbrellas—each about the size of a single-car garage—offer shaded tables with chairs.

Circle of Light Plaza
Pedestrians from ample parking areas sync up with the candlewalk that naturally draws foot traffic toward the Circle of Light plaza and the 3,184-seat worship center. Here, a multi-level water feature with interactive pop-jet fountains serves as a focal point. A literal circle of light, consisting of tall light sticks, frames the oval-shaped plaza. “We started with sightlines and pedestrian connections and how people would flow into the site. So we created this big outdoor room—a piazza gathering place—with wedges extending out,” explains McGowan.

A contemporized approach to a traditional church spire is set on the worship center’s plaza, or “outdoor room,” as well. “An element of verticality is something a lot of sacred spaces have,” notes McGowan. Visioneering Studios used a pre-engineered 90-foot structure coated with polycarbonate panels. While the tower’s base houses the information center, the pinnacle carries a cross lit by cold cathode lighting that stands as a prominent visible point to the city. Another surprising use of the spire: “The whole thing was strategically done so it could be used as a covert cell phone tower—all paid for by the cell phone provider,” says McGowan. “Part of what Visioneer-ing does is contribute to the design side, but then the ‘left brain’ partner on the development management side comes in with feasibility and nails down creative ways of being better stewards.”

While taking in the sights on the plaza, visitors might unintentionally find themselves in the midst of the worship center’s lobby. With the atmosphere of an indoor/outdoor Hawaiian-style lanai (porch or balcony), the entrance is somewhat obscure. “One of the ways we do that is with roll-up industrial garage doors, or operable glass,” tells McGowan. “One minute you are standing out in the plaza and the next you’ve backed accidentally into the church—it blurs the lines between inside and outside and the church and community.” Intending to bring the idea of God’s creation indoors, Visioneering Studios chose materials and paving patterns found on the candlewalk that continue through the plaza into the lobby. The floor of the worship center itself is stained concrete, matching the color scheme and making for a seamless transition.

Facility Construction
The structure of the worship center is a cost-saving, pre-engineered steel building with a simple metal roof. An added stucco exterior warms the look of the facility while meeting building ratings for California. Visioneering Studios added their expertise by including layers of detail in front of the basic structure: Curved wing walls with a hard lit curve—think “Googie” (fifties coffee shop architecture)—that sweeps across the front entrance into layers of canopies. Three different types of canopies form an arch across the front of the church. A metal leaf-formed trellis and mesh fabric creates dynamic patterns of dappled shade.

“The façade is devoid of hard transitions, with one flowing into another. These elements, along with color and various heights, like the tower and articulating corners, helped to break down the boxiness of the core worship center,” explains McGowan. In addition, Newell discusses a newer style of HVAC systems used on this project. “Fabric ducting, typically seen more in Nevada, is a method where an actual air sock or boot hangs along the ceiling in the main sanctuary. The material has tiny perforations in it that supply air rather than an actual duct system,” Newell reports. As well as being visually attractive, the system is able to provide good air distribution, is very quiet to run, and has lower maintenance requirements than conventional ducting—resulting in lower cost of ownership.

Gathering Spaces
After a worship service, Crossroads attendees drift out onto the plaza and may take in a cup of coffee or a meal at the Third Place Café. A subtle story is woven into its design. McGowan elaborates, “At Crossroads there’s a small Mediterranean café tucked off the church square that looks like it’s been there for hundreds of years. On one wall there are layers of weathered plaster revealing an ancient mariner’s map. A Renaissance sun pendant is a soffit element overhead. The colors and finishes make it feel ancient. This is our take on a postmodern café, where you might spend $15 on a cappuccino.”

A testimony to the power of architectural evangelism is evidenced by stories of people coming onto the campus who would never step foot in a church, especially a Christian one. “There are stories of Muslim families wandering in and meeting Christian families over a cup of coffee at the Third Place Café. They didn’t see it as a church—just a community gathering place,” shares McGowan.

Alison Istnick is a regular contributing writer to Worship Facilities and Church Production magazines. She can be reached at .

CROSSROADS CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT A GLANCE Location: Corona, California Denomination: Nondenominational Attendance: Approximately 6,000 Style of Worship: Contemporary, non-traditional, one en Español Special Events: Home Craft and Garden Show; Halloween Trunk and Treat (in parking areas); Rummage Sale; Business Expo in conjunction with city of Corona

QUICK-LINKS
Crossroads Christian Church
Corona, California
(951) 737-4664 • [http://www.crossroadschurch.com]

Newell Builders Inc.
Construction
(949) 951-0620 • [http://admin@newellbld.com]

Visioneering Studios Inc.
Destination architecture
(949) 417-5868 • [http://www.visioneeringstudios.com]

Alison Istnick is a regular contributing writer for Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities Magazine. She can be reached at aistnick@churchproduction.com.

You must be registered and logged in to post comments.