Although a multisite megachurch with weekly attendance close to 12,000, Free Chapel prides itself on providing the “neighborhood” feel of a smaller church. As part of that philosophy, Free Chapel recently added the Chapel on McEver at its flagship Gainesville, Ga., location, with the idea that it would serve as a dedicated wedding chapel complete with the space and grounds for the reception.
“The client wanted the expansion to include three things—a chapel that had a very classical old-world style with a twist of modern design, outdoor space that could be used for a multitude of events ... and a water feature with an outdoor baptistery.” Jeff Crocker, Lead Architect/Chapel on McEver, Brewster and Crocker Architects, Gainesville, GA
The Chapel on McEver project was part of an overall campus expansion project for Free Chapel. The expansion involved a complete renovation of the main building, including the addition of the new chapel, an outdoor wedding rotunda with a covered reception pavilion and open-air plaza, an amphitheater, a large fountain, and a hospitality terrace.
“The client wanted the expansion to include three things—a chapel that had a very classical old-world style with a twist of modern design, outdoor space that could be used for a multitude of events and event sizes, and a water feature with an outdoor baptistery,” says Jeff Crocker of Gainesville's Brewster and Crocker Architects, the lead architect on the project.
To accomplish the desired look, Crocker and his team studied many different types of facilities from around the world, he reports.
Design details
“The design unfolded pretty easily with our design team and by having a long-term relationship with Free Chapel,” Crocker says. “Pastor Jentezen Franklin’s vision and how the church uses their facilities gave us a unique understanding that allowed us to approach this design without some of the initial concept struggles that some projects have.”
Pastor Franklin and his wife Cherise are highly involved with all aspects of their campus projects, and the vision they cast made it both easy and challenging at the same time for the architects and designers.
"The chapel features lots of stone and wood both inside and out which took very special subs with artisan-like skills to build." Jeff Crocker, Lead Architect/Chapel on McEver, Brewster and Crocker Architects, Gainesville, GA
“The biggest challenges on this project was marrying the design with the budget while coordinating delivery of material from all over the world,” Crocker says. “One example is, all of the stone flooring is from Jerusalem. The chapel features lots of stone and wood both inside and out which took very special subs with artisan-like skills to build. The owner was very specific about some of the materials chosen, however, working with the contractor, Pellicano Construction, we were able to achieve a great end-result that is simply stunning.”
The AVL component
When it came to the audio-visual and lighting components, Crocker notes that dB Integrations of Gainesville was chosen for the project. The firm was tasked with understanding the wishes of Free Chapel and implementing them, he reports, and did so successfully.
“The intent of the chapel was almost anti-production, relying on natural acoustics with minimal sound reinforcement, which is completely hidden and concealed for visual appearance.” Jeff Crocker, Lead Architect/Chapel on McEver, Brewster and Crocker Architects, Gainesville, GA
“The AV approach in the chapel is completely different than all of [the church's] other venues, which are designed for a high production/concert approach,” he says. “The intent of the chapel was almost anti-production, relying on natural acoustics with minimal sound reinforcement, which is completely hidden and concealed for visual appearance.”
Paul Lynch, a sales manager for dB Integrations, says the company’s initial meeting with church leaders was to determine their needs and goals with this new construction--and one of the firm goals was to not see any technology.
“Another factor was ease of use, [since] there would be different people using the system with varying levels of expertise, so it needed to be user-friendly,” Lynch says. “The technology goals were clear sound with even coverage in every seat in the room, minimal stage lighting, distributed video to TVs around the facility, and the ability to playback pre-recorded video and have it viewed in the room.”
Not only was it important to them that whatever technology was proposed had a minimal visual impact, but it was equally important to have technology that would be seen fit into the planned décor.
“After some time to study the construction drawings, we felt the Danley SBH series would be the best solution for this application,” Lynch says. “We invited the decision makers to our facility to hear the SBH 10 and 20 speakers. They were very impressed with the clarity and coverage that Danley brought to their application.”
After modeling the room, dB Integrations decided on 2 SBH20LF to be installed in a custom opening built by the contractor. They also used 2 SBH20 installed on the upper wall to cover the balcony.
“The sub frequencies were covered by two Danley THmini-15’s,” Lynch says. “During construction, we pointed out and the client agreed that some other areas of the facility needed audio. We used four Weatherized Danley Go2 speakers for an outdoor patio area. There is another space that can open to the outside that can be used either as a separate rental space or as staging for other events. We placed four Go2 speakers with a THmini 15 in this area.”
In the outdoor gazebo, which could be utilized for a wedding or overflow for a reception, a portable system consisting of two Danley SM100s was the solution, so sound could be set up as needed.
The video was required to be out of sight while still being functional. Lynch notes the church also wanted to be able to monitor the service from other parts of the building.
“We installed a single fixed-focus Marshall AV-CV345-CSB camera on the back wall. We used a Kramer VS-41HD switcher to switch between camera and local video input at the AV booth,” he says. “It is also capable of taking a video signal from the main campus so the room can be used for overflow. (It was used this way this Easter.) We have two 90-inch Sharp TVs on lifts that rise out of the stage walls, disappearing completely when not in use.”
The chapel is acoustically a very live room, with sound supplemented by the PA. The room’s lighting is simple yet effective, and the video is LED monitors that are concealed behind rock walls raising up out of the walls when needed via motorized lifts.
“The final result was the best compromise between functionality and aesthetics, and the customer is pleased with the results,” Lynch says. “The final speaker design gives excellent speech fidelity in a very reverberant space, while still providing excellent music reproduction. The [client has] had several services in the room with excellent results, and are looking forward to a busy first wedding season.”
[Editor's note: This piece was originally published in 2018.]