Church of the Highlands is Alabama’s largest church with 24 campuses throughout Alabama and in West Georgia. The church partnered with TURNERBATSON to complete a 130,000 SF renovation to its Grandview Campus as part of its ongoing expansion to Highlands College in Birmingham. The converted conference center was transformed into a 1,400-person modern worship space with state of the art audio visual capabilities and a refreshed, inspiring, and energized environment.

The space is integrated with the Highlands College campus in order to act as a living laboratory for students of the college while continuing to serve its growing Grandview congregation. Students are able to gain real-life experience in the areas of worship, production, technology, family ministry, outreach, and pastoral care during one of the services and can practice their practicum throughout the week.

A new bridge entrance was created to connect from the parking deck. It welcomes guests into an open and light-filled commons area designed to be a multi-purpose venue for fellowship or large-scale events.

Details such as lighting, walnut wall coverings, and other natural finishes and materials help to reinforce the welcoming spirit of the Grandview campus. The lower-level houses Highlands Kids, a multi-sensory room, Dream Team rooms, small group rooms, conference rooms, and a TECH-ARTS suite designed for specialized training for Highlands College students.

When designing the new worship center, the church and design team partnered with audio/video and acoustical engineers to incorporate the latest performance technology. The new space features acoustically treated walls and floating clouds, concrete flooring, stadium seating, and a front-of-house production booth. A floor to ceiling LED Wall displays an IMAG screen allowing every person in the room to feel visually connected to the speaker or worship leaders. Moveable seating was selected in order to reposition the room for multiple uses and maintain clear sightlines.

The back-of-house includes a private entrance, hospitality suite with private kitchen, and a prayer room for special guests and worship leaders allowing for efficient access to the stage. Other rooms house the production studio and “team room,” which are connected by glass partitions.