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FAMILY
LIFE CENTER AT PALM DESERT
COMMUNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA
Photography:
Ronald Moore and Associates, Inc.
Jury
Comments: The intricate detailing, together with
the blended use of color and texture, made this project
stand out to the jury. The buttressed foundation walls seem
to anchor the building to the site, while the textured
banding and integrated patterns of glass block help to
soften what might otherwise be an overwhelmingly sterile
wall.
This project seeks to integrate into the existing Palm
Desert Community Presbyterian Church campus by mediating
between the 1968 concrete and glu-lam sanctuary and the
Santa Rosa Mountains. To this end, concrete masonry units
were used to establish both color and form for the building.
The concrete masonry unit base consists of alternating bands
of 12” deep burnished CMU and 13” deep shop-blast
CMU. These alternating depths and finishes of concrete
masonry create a heavily rusticated and shadowed base onto
which the classroom and auditorium spaces are positioned.
These volumes, arranged around a central corridor, push to
the edge for their light source and pull away to create
elevated planters. The roof lines were lifted towards the
north to provide additional light and views for the
classroom spaces. The roof to the far-east enclosing the
auditorium was lifted to create a visual link to the
sweeping roof of the existing sanctuary, while providing an
acoustically sound interior.
Included in this 26,000 square foot, two-level building are eight new classrooms, an intimate 85-seat fine arts auditorium, a multi-purpose room (with stage and food preparation room) able to accommodate a 350 person banquet, praise services, or basketball, a youth fellowship room, library/gathering space, media room, volunteer room, computer room, 2,000 plus square feet of storage, and meeting room and offices for four staff members. Within a constrained site, the project was able to more than double the church’s total square-footage and provide an additional 25 new parking spaces.
ARCHITECT OF RECORD:
MKA - Martinez/Kuch Architects
2201
Martin Street, Suite 201
Irvine, CA 92612
Ron
Kuch
Principal in Charge
DESIGN ARCHITECT:
The Art Office
83-810
Vin Deo Circle,
Suite 101
Indio, CA 92201
Phillip
K. Smith, III
Design Principal
STRUCTURAL
ENGINEER:
Johnson & Nielsen Associates
GENERAL
CONTRACTOR:
Turner Construction
MASONRY
CONTRACTOR:
MTI - Masonry Technologies, Incorporated
BLOCK
PRODUCER:
ORCO Block Company
OWNER:
Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church
