St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands received a Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects | Alabama

KPS Group’s design for additions and renovations at St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church was presented with a Merit Award from the Alabama Council of the American Institute of Architects at the 2022 Excellence in Design Awards Gala held on Saturday, October 22nd during its annual Conference on Architecture.  

St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands is the oldest church in Birmingham’s Five Points South Historic District and one of the city’s best examples of English Revival ecclesiastical architecture.  Beloved by parishioners, the original 1892 English Gothic church campus was expanded to include Drennen House – a stone parlor building – and a former YMCA building converted to educational space in 1974.  As is common with many older parishes, St. Mary’s was faced with obsolete systems and deteriorating physical facilities.  Compounding this were core issues of connectivity between essential levels and spaces on the steeply sloping site, as well as access from the surrounding narrow residential streets. 

Church stakeholders were carefully guided through a master planning process designed to elicit an understanding of aesthetic desires and program priorities as well as perceived issues and the facility wish list.  After optional solutions were developed, the Church decided what they wanted to accomplish and KPS worked with a general contractor to determine costs.  The scope of improvements was finalized after a process of “right-sizing” to align vision and desired budget.  KPS helped the Church communicate the project vision to the parish, providing images of design solutions to be used for fundraising. 

Led by project director Hugh Thornton AIA, the design team conducted a master planning process to determine specific needs and studied optional ways to solve the Church’s core issues.

Connectivity and character were the two key concerns for this renovation and addition:  connecting worship to Sunday school; forging connection with a new generation of young families with safe, relevant spaces to worship, learn, and celebrate; and maintaining connection with aging congregants by improving access to the beautiful Gothic building.  Just as important was assuring the historic character of the iconic original sanctuary was replicated in new and renovated structures.  The topography of the steeply sloping urban campus created multiple issues. Relying on street parking in a busy residential neighborhood, the campus lacked safe, convenient street access. Primarily outdoors, circulation was challenging. Essential levels and spaces lacked connection. Deteriorating facilities and systems needed rehabilitation, and the Church wanted a large, column-free parish hall.

Solutions prioritized renovation of existing space over demolition. New buildings are clad in the style of the old church, adding functionality while connecting with the past.  A new parish hall steps back to avoid traffic and defer to Drennen House and provides a safe, covered campus entry.  A new accessible circulation system connects new spaces to the existing sanctuary. Education and administrative spaces have been reprogrammed and modernized.

Forging Connections

Programmatic functions housed by the various additions precluded logical adjacencies and resulted in inefficient use of space, forcing parishioners to go in and out of buildings rather than flowing through them to transition between worship, fellowship, and educational functions.  Further, many of the floor levels of the previous additions did not align.  This limited use and created a particular hardship for elderly and disabled parishioners.

The team worked closely with the Church’s building committee to develop the solution:  a glass second-story connector perched atop an existing stone arcade and positioned to connect the sanctuary with the parlor, Christian education building, and new parish hall.  The connector incorporates a new central elevator that provides an accessible route to all levels of the church, using “half stops” to interconnect with various levels and resolve accessibility issues.  The connector’s scale and proximity to worship and education spaces fosters gathering and fellowship.  Below the new connector, the existing stone loggia was partially dismantled and reassembled with a new floor plate to finally connect the existing sanctuary and Drennen House.  Improved circulation from the stone loggia leads visitors through the new memorial gardens to the expanded columbarium.  A metal sculpted angel watches over those who enter the garden walk and into different functions of the church complex.

The New Randolph Memorial Hall

The new Randolph Memorial Hall features a warm stone and slate exterior and large metal frame windows that bathe the parish hall in natural light while capturing views of Red Mountain.  Elevated above an abandoned alley easement, it provides this urban church with a motor court, porte-cochere, and entrance that connects to all levels of the facility.  The parish hall fulfills two key needs:   a large, column-free banquet facility and safe, convenient access from the surrounding streets.  Stepping back to avoid traffic in this busy neighborhood, it defers to the existing Drennen House.  Elevating the parish hall above the former alley created the opportunity for both vehicular access and a covered drop-off below to serve as the primary accessible church entrance.  In addition to sheltered pedestrian and vehicular circulation for church functions, the motor court is used for outdoor worship services and neighborhood engagement.  Clad in the style of the old church, the building brings new functionality while providing a link to the past. 

The Randolph Memorial Hall also provides St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands with an expansive, high quality space for church events, weddings, and other large gatherings.  Supported by a new commercial kitchen, its large banquet space draws inspiration from the design of the historic sanctuary.

Contact

Hugh Thornton, AIA | hthornton@kpsgroup.com

Led by Huntsville office director, Kristine Harding FAIA, the KPS team is working closely with Redstone Federal Credit Union to expand their presence across the Tennessee Valley.  Three projects are currently underway – new freestanding combination branch and office buildings in Murfreesboro TN and Huntsville AL, and a new drive-thru Teller Station on North Parkway in Huntsville. The Credit Union, named one of the “best banks” in the country by Money Magazine in 2018 and 2019’s recipient of NAFCU’s Credit Union of the Year award, envisioned modern buildings evocative of their forward-thinking approach. 

Drone fly-overs of the downtown Huntsville site helps RFCU stakeholders understand what the project will look like in context when completed.

KPS designers routinely translate design concepts and plans into 3-dimensional renderings that help owners make informed decisions about design.  Using an array of sophisticated graphics programs, the design team showed RFCU decision-makers progressively more realistic depictions of what their buildings would look like as the designs evolved.  Beginning with simple 2-dimensional sketches and massing models, the team provided RFCU with highly detailed 3-D renderings and drone fly-overs that have allowed them to compare design options and fully understand what their buildings will look like from all angles when completed, down to the smallest detail.

Downtown Huntsville Branch Complex

Slated for completion in 2020, Redstone Federal Credit Union’s new downtown Huntsville branch and office building at 200 Davis Circle will appear to glow as motorists travel into the city from the interstate. Close up, the building’s design of glass and metal panels will be even more impressive, with a fresh and cutting edge look.  The 66,718sf building will span five floors and include a ground floor Retail Branch as well as a Community Room and Rooftop Terrace.

Huntsville Drive-Thru Teller Station

This modern, drive-thru Teller Station will stand out for its design, convenience, and functionality. Featuring video teller services as well as general ATM functions, it is slated to open early in 2019.

Flagship Tennessee Branch Office

Currently under construction, the new flagship Tennessee branch office on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro is anticipated to open in the fall of 2019. The 28,000sf complex will incorporate a retail branch, administrative office space, and a call center, with a Community Room and Terrace on the top floor.

Contact

Kristine Harding, FAIA | kharding@kpsgroup.com

Kristine Harding is among those architects named to the AIA College of Fellows in 2018, an honor awarded to AIA members who have made significant contributions to the profession of architecture. A principal at KPS Group, Kristine leads the firm’s Huntsville office and serves on the Board of Directors.  Her clients include the Huntsville International Airport, Boeing, Redstone Federal Credit Union, Oakwood University, the City of Scottsboro, Commercial Office Properties Trust (COPT), and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  In addition to her demanding role at KPS, she has held numerous leadership positions in professional and civic organizations, and was named to the Alabama General Contractors Hall of Fame in 2017.

KPS now counts two Fellows among its leadership – unusual for any firm, but particularly so for a firm of our size.

Only some 3% of AIA members have achieved the distinction of Fellowship, 41 of them in Alabama, since the inception of the College of Fellows in the 1920s. Kristine Harding is the third woman architect in Alabama to be elevated to AIA Fellowship, and the first Alabama architect to be named to the College of Fellows since 2014.  A trailblazing architect whose focus over the past 13 years has been to bring the architectural licensure process into alignment with the technical and practical aspects of the 21^st century, Kristine is passionate about our profession’s need to embrace the real world demands faced by its diverse population of young professionals.  Her achievements in facilitating architectural licensure through leadership roles in both the AIA and the National Council of Architectural Review Boards (NCARB) have redefined the profession’s approach to ensuring the resiliency of practice and helped to forge alliances between the two organizations.

Kristine served as the FY 2016-17 President of NCARB, is a past president of both the Alabama Council AIA and the North Alabama Chapter AIA, and was Chair of the State of Alabama Board for Registration of Architects from 2005 to 2007. She has received the AIA Alabama Council’s Accolade – its highest honor – as well as multiple certificates of appreciation from Alabama’s highest officials including Governor Kay Ivey.  A participant in Leadership Alabama Class 16 and Huntsville-Madison County Leadership Class 14, Kristine has been active in many civic organizations including the Huntsville Sports Commission and the Madison County Marina & Port Authority.

Contact

Kristine Harding, FAIA | kharding@kpsgroup.com