FAITH TRADITIONAL
LS3P is extremely passionate about working with Faith clients to design inspiring, timeless facilities for worship. Our significant portfolio of traditional church designs is rooted in the heritage, values, and beliefs which make each faith community unique. Using classic architectural details and established forms, we are highly skilled at creating spaces which are welcoming, familiar, and enduring. Nationally, we have completed over 400 faith-based projects, and we are honored by the trust our Faith clients have placed in our proven process, our commitment to design excellence, and most importantly, our client relationships.
Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church
400
faith-based projects
Catholic Diocese of Charleston Chancery
over
560
design awards
Established in 1963, LS3P is a multi-disciplinary firm offering architecture, interior architecture, and planning services to a wide variety of clients nationwide. Central to all regions of the Southeast with offices in the Carolinas and Georgia. LS3P is committed to bringing state-of-the-art design, technology, and expertise of a strong regional firm closer to our clients on a local level. We have an excellent reputation for project success; however, we are most proud of our longstanding relationships, and the fact that over 80% of our work is for repeat clients. The editor of DesignIntelligence has called LS3P “the most local of the global firms and the most ‘world-class’ of the locals.” LS3P brings a history of over 50 years of design excellence, with more than 550 design awards across diverse practice areas. With a mission to “engage, design, and transform,” we are deeply committed to the communities we serve. We believe in collaboration, innovation, and building lasting relationships with our clients.
This extensive renovation provided much-needed gathering space in an expansive new lobby for a historic congregation founded in 1794. The existing lobby was constrained and was not conducive to fellowship before and after worship services; the new space is welcoming, engaging, and spacious. A new reception area, coffee bar, and lounge with informal seating all encourage informal interactions and strengthen opportunities for engagement. Prior to the renovation, the façade projected a “school” aesthetic. The new design clearly communicates a “church” aesthetic with an inspiring new façade and large-scale cross that invites the congregation into its new space. The renovation also improved circulation with the addition of a new stairwell and elevator. Exposed custom wood trusses designed for the lobby roof support a clerestory which draws the eye upwards and brings natural light into the space below.
BRUSHY CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH
Having outgrown its previous facilities, this young church commissioned LS3P to provide master planning services and design its first phase of construction. Phase I is a 2-story building featuring a 600-seat sanctuary, fellowship space, and education space. The design of the common spaces incorporates a Main Street concourse concept, with second-floor balconies overlooking these gathering areas. Support spaces such as the kitchen and restrooms are located along the edge of the building to maintain flexibility for the program spaces. The design maintains the character of the heavily wooded 14.7-acre site. Future phases will expand the sanctuary to 1,200 seats in the Lowcountry.
CHAPIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
This new worship center is the third phase of construction in First Baptist Church’s master plan. The 1,300-seat space expands capacity for each of the worship services, creates enlarged music facilities for practice and performances, and provides parking for the congregation. A new atrium attached to the worship center offers a large gathering space to facilitate easy movement and fellowship between services. LS3P also designed Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the master plan, which included an administrative wing and a child development center.
SIMPSONVILLE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
The Chatlos Chapel for the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville, NC maintained the simplicity and elegance of a traditional North Carolina mountain chapel while integrating technological sophistication with state-of-the-art audio and video/television systems. With mountain views from the chapel through the forest canopy, the building is boldly sited perpendicular to the sloping terrain on a 3,500acre site defined by two major ridgelines. The steeple soars 80 feet above the roofline to provide a strong visual symbol day and night. The chapel is the first phase of a planned religious training complex. Two additional floors are hidden below the sanctuary level. The middle floor is multi-functional for receptions and meetings, and the basement level incorporates a stepped-floor auditorium for conferences. All parking is remotely located, so visitors must walk a defined path system through the woods to reach this secluded worship center. Building materials are native to the region. Exterior wall surfaces are North Carolina field stone, gathered on site and laid in a “dry” fashion reminiscent of traditional mountain masonry. Roofing material is slate, and the chapel floor surface is heart pine. Detailing is simple and articulate to exhibit the talents of local craftsman.
CHATLOS CHAPEL
On the first anniversary of the fire that destroyed their historic sanctuary, St. Luke UMC held a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of a new 200 seat sanctuary. The sanctuary features a bell tower that displays the bell and cross from the original sanctuary, providing a landmark to the community. The project relocated the parsonage to a more appropriate location to allow the new sanctuary to be the focal point of the site. The sanctuary was designed with exposed glulam trusses, stained wood paneling behind the altar, and a balcony that also contains the AV control area. The original stained glass windows were framed and re-hung inside new sanctuary windows. The design recalls the historic nature and intimate feeling of the original building while providing improved lighting, circulation, restrooms and other elements.
ST. LUKE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Located in downtown Raleigh, this 500-seat sanctuary building stands just 5 blocks north of the State Capitol building. The colonial-style church is the first permanent home for the new congregation, and provides 25,000 square feet of worship, fellowship, and education space. Though it is all new construction, this church building is intended to look as if it has existed in the heart of Raleigh for a hundred years. The sanctuary features a second-level choir and balcony with an organ. An intimate 50-seat chapel is located in the second level of the tower, and the steeple spire extends 130 feet above street level. A connector building provides fellowship space while bridging the sanctuary and a 2-story education building. The education building provides space for both children and adults, and frames a courtyard gathering space between the two main buildings. The master plan for the site includes a connected phasetwo building that will provide additional education and fellowship space.
HOLY TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH
The Chancery, a new administrative building for the Diocese of Charleston, consolidates programs previously housed in four separate buildings. The campus, which fits snugly beneath canopies of oak trees, also includes a chapel and meeting hall. The design takes advantage of the site’s spectacular views of the City of Charleston from the banks of the Ashley River. The design team visited a number of chanceries throughout the Southeast to gain inspiration, gather programming information, and confirm space adjacencies for the various departments. The program for the main office building includes many departments: the Bishop’s Suite, Vocations, Construction, Tribunal, Family Life, Ethnic Ministry, Social Ministry, Child Protection, Human Resources, IT, Education, Catechesis, Campus Ministry, Youth Ministry, Finance, Claims, and Media Relations. The buildings were oriented to achieve maximum energy conservation while maintaining natural light and views for every office. The design balances the open offices and the welcoming nature of the campus with a need for security and privacy. The exterior of the buildings features materials representing the entire state of South Carolina with brick from the Midlands, stone from the Upstate, and siding from the Lowcountry.
CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CHARLESTON CHANCERY
This design provides a new worship space for one of the largest parishes in South Carolina, which has outgrown its former facilities. The new 22,000 SF church includes a 1,200 seat nave, 2 sacristies, an adoration chapel, a bride room/cry room, a repast kitchen, and a gift shop. The architectural solution cultivates the spiritual development of the parish community with a collection of sacred relics curated by the parish’s spiritual leader. The result is a clear liturgical message encouraging the community’s full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy. The master plan redevelops a portion of the site to include a new church, an entry plaza, a columbarium, and 400 parking spaces to support the existing Parish Life Center and school. The reorganized site improves safety and visibility while preserving treasured site features.
ST. MICHAEL CATHOLIC CHURCH
This 10,000 SF project completely repaired, renovated, and expanded an existing church after a fire. The new design re-oriented the 250-seat sanctuary away from the street to face a naturally wooded section of the site. This orientation connects the congregation more closely with nature and creates views upwards towards the sky. The renovation incorporated contemporary materials in traditional forms to reflect the demographic blend of the congregation.
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The design for this new church building celebrates eight historically significant stained glass windows acquired from a convent in New Jersey. The sanctuary accommodates 650 people, and is designed for future expansion to 1000. The narthex, support spaces, and steeple are also designed for ease of expansion as the congregation grows and the transepts are extended. The site is master planned to include future education buildings and a cloister walkway to connect the campus buildings. Other church spaces include the narthex, choir balcony, Adoration Chapel, cry room/bride’s room, sacristy, vesting room, and other support spaces. New pews were installed in the nave as part of the project. In some parts of the building, cabinetry and other millwork were built by a church member from repurposed existing pews. Other existing pews from the nave were re-built to fit the new transepts.
OUR LADY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH
LS3P collaborated with SYS Constructors to design a new worship center addition for an existing building. This new addition occupies the corner of a prominent property in downtown Simpsonville, increasing the church’s visibility in the community. The new sanctuary has an initial capacity of 350 seats, and is designed to expand to 600 seats by lengthening the nave. The new space features a sloped wood ceiling which opens to the steeple lantern. Projection screens and organ sound chamber openings are integrated into the paneling behind the choir, accommodating both traditional and contemporary worship services.
HOLY CROSS EPISCOPAL
This multiphase project for Walhalla Presbyterian Church restored a historic 1915 church gutted by a fire which left only the exterior sanctuary walls standing. While undertaking the restoration, the congregation wanted to preserve the feel of the original space while updating the facilities for the future. The unusual original church design had the exterior appearance of a Greek cross with two porticos and a dome, but the interior “L” shaped plan featured fan seating oriented to one corner. The new design enlarges the platform area to better accommodate the choir and pulpit, and converts the previous choir loft into space for a future pipe organ. Several classrooms were removed in order to enlarge the platform area. This strategy also exposed the existing stained glass windows which survived the fire, which are now in full view of the sanctuary. The restoration rebuilt and reconfigured the balcony to provide better sightlines and acoustics. New interior columns, a new copper dome, and a refurbished portico recall the church’s architectural history. A central gathering space/lobby provides a new welcome center and elevator to connect all three levels. A renovation of the existing damaged fellowship hall created new classrooms, including more colorful spaces for preschoolers. The exterior metal stair that served as the second exit from the education second floor was replaced by a more inviting covered stair and entry portico. In order to protect the building from weather as quickly as possible, the team implemented an unusual project track, with construction of the permanent roof and dome base beginning as design documents were being completed. A future phase of construction will add a new Fellowship Hall.
WALHALLA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
This new multi-purpose Family Life Center converted its existing fellowship hall into a youth space. The new facility features an overhead track, offices, classrooms, and a lobby area. The new building ties into the floor levels of the existing building, with ramps and an elevator to resolve accessibility issues. The new exterior complements the existing sanctuary, creating a seamless fit between old and new facilities.
CLEMSON FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH FAMILY LIFE CENTER
The first phase of the Grace Fellowship Church master plan included a new 2-story youth education building. The first floor houses the K-5 programs and features four break-out rooms, two 150-seat auditoriums, and a secure checkin lobby. The second floor houses the middle and high school education programs, with 16 meeting rooms wrapping around a central 300seat auditorium. The second phase of construction was a new 1,500-seat multi-purpose worship auditorium with a combination of a flat floor and stadium seating, which provided the church with a truly flexible space which can host a variety of activities. This phase also included the demolition and renovation of the main circulation corridors, the Connection Café, and a centralized lobby.
GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
Phase I of the master plan for this expanding congregation includes a Welcome Center and a new Christian Growth Center. The Christian Growth Center provides a vibrant and flexible facility for youth ministry with bright colors, exposed mechanical systems, and bold shapes to enliven the classrooms and common areas. The Welcome Center builds upon the playful architectural theme developed in the Christian Growth Center, serving as the entry point and wayfinding hub for the church campus. Spacious gathering areas encourage spirited interaction among children and adults alike. The red brick exterior weaves the buildings into the existing fabric of the church campus. Largescale windows and cast stone accents provide defining details and produce a point of departure from the older adjacent structures. A light-filled cupola atop the Welcome Center acts as a symbolic beacon to the community day and night.
FLORENCE BAPTIST CHURCH CHRISTIAN GROWTH CENTER
This 900-seat church offers elements of both traditional Presbyterian heritage and contemporary trends attractive to young families, and is designed for expansion to 1,100 seats to accommodate future growth. The cruciform plan of the sanctuary provides a blend of contemporary fan-shaped seating along with a strong processional axis in the center of the nave, while the interior of the sanctuary features an open aesthetic with abundant natural light. The nave utilizes contemporary ceiling “clouds” configured in a vaulted shape to support lighting and acoustic systems. The state-of-the-art acoustics were carefully designed to support an ideal range of vibrant singing, congregational response, and audible speaking from the pulpit. Central to the church campus is an open, welcoming narthex space for gathering, dining, and fellowship. This space also provides direct access to the sanctuary, children’s check-in, and adult classrooms, making it a hub for circulation. The exterior materials palette harmonizes seamlessly with existing church buildings while giving the space a strong identity as a church. LS3P teamed with local architects/engineers Cook Douglas Farr Lemons on the design.
HIGHLANDS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
This new 1,200- seat worship center for a growing congregation includes a central lobby, an information kiosk, a bookstore, and a café. The open glass lobby presents a welcoming face to the surrounding community. The design includes new vehicular and pedestrian circulation, including new entrances to existing facilities.
NORTHSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
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