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Redwood Covenant Church, Santa Rosa

Creative approaches to the design-build process turn a metal building into an inviting place of worship.

To look at it, most people would not guess it’s a metal building. With its plaster exterior and interior drywall, the Redwood Covenant Church’s place of worship is a great example of how a metal structure can provide a large, expansive assembly area, cost-effectively, while lending a warm and inviting presentation.

Composed of 43,000 square feet of assembly and educational spaces, the building also includes modest kitchen facilities. One particularly unique room is a children’s theater, complete with a set-decorated stage and theatrical lighting. Audio and video equipment in the room supports puppeteers in conveying their story telling.

The sanctuary seats 750, including 120 in the mezzanine. Neither one level, nor sloped, the floor is tiered in three 12-foot sections allowing for flexibility as either stadium seating or as large platforms for table and chair groupings.

As an integral part of the project, the Church devoted over $500,000 of road and drainage improvements to the access street, Sebastopol Road. These include a more sophisticated traffic light and a large stormwater retention pond.

From the beginning, JMA worked closely with church leaders to create ways to reduce project costs. Church volunteers helped install the landscaping and completed some of the building’s interior finish work.

Architect: Del Starrett, Santa Rosa, CA

Photography copyright Tim Maloney, Technical Imagery Studios, Santa Rosa, CA