Another project with sentimental notes, the West Amarillo Christian Church was the first to give us design award recognition. The church building committee was a great team, and the Building Program was established as a “Full Plant,” meaning it included most typical church functions, i.e., Worship, Education, Administration, Recreation (Gym), and Food Service.

A church member’s family Trust provided a very nice cash budget for this project. However, the shape of the property was the dominant driver in the design. Located on one of the most high-profile streets in Amarillo, the property had over three times the distance in road frontage than it had in depth. As a “Full Plant,” the size of the building was the maximum allowed for this property. In Zoning approval, Building Area Ratio (BAR) represents the size limit of the building as a ratio of the property. Consequently, the design would have to be very linear to take full advantage of all the property.

With almost 600 seats in the sanctuary and balcony, the total project was about 54,000 sf, not including the Covered Drive-Thru and covered walkways. With the required parking totals, virtually every square foot of property available for this project was used.

Rather than being considered as adversity, all of these design limitations seemed to have the cumulative effect as a gift. Using the Gymnasium and Classroom wing as linear elements, the final design aesthetics seemed perfect for this site. The design was not only a good fit for the property, but also for this high-end retail and commercial district. It was so well-received by the community that one of the local TV stations asked to install a camera on the steeple to use in the traffic report given nightly on the local news.