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industry
Churches
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location
Birmingham, AL
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year
2020
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square footage
65,000
industry
Churches
location
Birmingham, AL
year
2020
square footage
65,000
Church of the Highlands is Alabama’s largest church with more than 20 campuses throughout the state. The church needed a space large enough to bring together more than 300 staff members. The church relocated its Central Offices to the 4th and 5th floors of an existing corporate office as part of its ongoing expansion to the Grandview Campus in Birmingham. For the first time in Highlands’ history, the church was able to bring all 13 departments from varying locations together under one roof in the renovated 65,000 SF space.
Highlands’ leadership took the opportunity to transform what was once a closed-off, dated environment into a space that celebrates Highlands’ philosophy through 21st century design. The vision was to create a space that was full of light, energetic, youthful, flexible, and collaborative — inspiring the next generation of leaders to flourish in a relational environment.
This resulted in an open-office design that revitalized the building. By taking away the existing hard perimeter walls, sunlight immediately transformed the space. Thoughtful details fill the 4th and 5th floor through centrally located coffee bars, shared circulation spaces featuring bright modular furniture, wayfinding, and wood-inspired LVT flooring. Open work stations compared to cubicles, benching, and private/open meeting rooms surrounded by glass create full transparency amongst departments. Neutral color pallets provide the creative department canvases to easily interchange messaging and graphics. A repurposed central staircase is at the heart of the 4th and 5th floor connecting guests to the pastoral offices and special events center. The center features a large central meeting area surrounded by free-flowing space including conference facilities, guest services, a small business center, and a kitchen/catering room.
The intent for the new offices is not only to be used locally, but globally, welcoming and training different leaders within the worldwide church community. Following the completion of the Central Offices, construction commenced on the remaining floors to house Highlands College. By 2022, all 12.6 acres of the Grandview campus — including the Grandview Church Campus and Student Living — will be transformed into a collaborative and relational space.
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