Rolling Hills Community Church Expansion

Tualatin, OR

Mason Contractor: Howard Jacobs Masonry
Architect: Chuck Hayward; Scott Thayer

Project Description

Founded in 1978 in suburban Portland, Oregon, Rolling Hills Community Church began construction of their existing church facilities in 1984. Following completion of a 1991 addition, the existing one and two story brick veneer structure comprised approximately 55,000 square feet. By the mid 90's the church was experiencing significant growth and began planning for a major expansion to their facilities. Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects was hired in 1996 to assist Rolling Hills in this substantial master planning and building design effort.

The recently completed project is the first part of a multi-phase expansion program, adding about 135,000 s.f. to the existing building area. This three-story addition includes a new 2600 seat worship center with theatrical stage and backstage support areas, a new main foyer and entries, café, classrooms, offices, restrooms and other support spaces, and a 55,000 s.f. "shell" space for the future early childhood center and main church fellowship center. The primary masonry contractor was Howard Jacobs Masonry and the general contractor was P&C Construction.

A palette of natural materials was chosen for this addition to foster a sense of warmth, substance and connection to nature, both inside and out. Thus masonry materials are predominant on both the exterior and interior of the addition, including brick in three colors and two textures, ground-faced CMU, concrete unit pavers, interior split-faced CMU, and sandstone, porcelain and ceramic floor tiles and wall tiles. These materials coordinate with the bronze-toned window framing, metal panels and metal roofing on the exterior, as well as the palette of maple and cherry trim, paneling and casework, rich patterned carpets, stained concrete, and warm-toned painted walls on the interior.

The dominant red blend brick color was selected to coordinate closely with the brick of the existing building, whereas the ochre color was introduced to identify the main building entries and as an accent in the typical wall compositions. Warm colored ground-face concrete masonry was used at the base of most exterior walls, with subtle patterns and accent details using a dark brown brick and a rug texture brick incorporated within the main wall surfaces, further developing the sense of richness, warmth and detail. In addition, earth-toned concrete unit pavers were employed at the main entry areas and courtyards in flowing curvilinear patterns to further both the theme of warm, natural materials, and that of curved forms juxtaposed against straight, rectangular geometries.

These themes were brought to the interior design as well, to produce an integrated architectural expression. The exterior brick was brought to the inside at the entry areas and split-face concrete masonry was used on the side walls of the main worship center, as recommended by the acoustical engineer for sound diffusion and isolation. The sense of natural warmth, permanence and richness was extended further inside through the use of natural sandstone tile as an accent flooring and typical wall base in the main spaces, along with extensive use of ceramic and porcelain tile on restroom floors and walls.