CANYON CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Richardson, Texas
Estimated Completion Date: September 2003
Currently Under Construction
PROGRAM: Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church is moving to a new site located about five miles from its current location at 400 West Campbell Road in Richardson. The new facility, around 95,000 square feet, will feature Christian education facilities, classrooms, youth facilities, a cafeteria/auditorium and a new sanctuary. The new facility will be over twice the size of the current facility. Parking for 400 cars will be provided in the first phase of construction. Future facilities will include a youth center with regulation gymnasium, expanded educational classrooms and an outreach center. At the center of concerns of the congregation is that the new facility incorporate traditional elements of church architecture so that the new facility looks like a church.
SITE CONDITIONS: The new eleven acre site is located just to the north of the Springhill Retreat in the Northeast corner of Richardson. Due north of the site is the City of Plano. Bounded on the east side is Springhill Road. Currently under construction, Northstar Road bisects the site into the north and south section. The design challenge is to accommodate the entire master plan on the property bisected by Northstar Road. Preliminary studies indicate that future buildings and parking will fit on the south section of the property, but playing fields and recreation areas cannot be accommodated without crossing Northstar to the north section of the property.
JOHN CALVIN: The religious thought of John Calvin provides the inspiration for the organizational concepts of the Master Plan. Calvin's doctrine of predestination stated that there was no blind stroke of fortune that presented obstacles in our path. Calvin writes, "If the Lord has marked the moment of our death, it cannot be escaped,...it is vain to toil and use precaution. But when...the light of Divine Providence has illuminated the believers soul, he is relieved and set free, not only from the extreme fear and anxiety which formerly oppressed him, but from all care. For as he justly shudders at the idea of chance, so he can confidently commit himself to God." (Calvin's Institutes, Book One, Chapter 17) Calvin wrote this in the sixteenth century during the Renaissance in Europe. He was echoing a trend of that time. In Renaissance thought, there was a shift to the classical sense where man plays a part in his fate.
These ideas translate to a strategy of confronting Northstar Road in a way that is not acquiescent to site conditions but assertive. The main building structure is placed perpendicular to Northstar, spanning from the south section to the north section to create a gateway between Richardson and Plano. Placing the main building structure perpendicular to the south property line minimizes the building mass impact on Springhill Retreat.
DESIGN INTENT: The goal of the new Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church is to create a place to worship and learn in order "to know Christ and to make Christ known." The chief objective toward this goal is to create a worship space that celebrates the uniqueness of Canyon Creek in the Presbyterian Church in its Reformed tradition.
MASTER PLAN (Updated)
FLOOR PLANS
Updated March 20, 2003
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