For the Joyful Church in Pohang, South Korea, The Beck Group fused ideas from multiple religious, cultural and sustainable sources to create a wholly unique Korean church design experience. The church’s new campus design provides 25,600 m2 (275,000 SF) including a 2,500-seat sanctuary, 800-seat chapel and spaces dedicated to the church’s extensive weekday social and community ministries. Special care was taken to integrate the large facility into the 10.6-acre, densely wooded hillside site.
“As envisioned by the congregation, this facility will make a new statement in the design of Christian churches in Korea,†said Tom Greenwood, a principal with Beck. “It was important that this building draw from traditional Korean cultural elements and a respect for the land, while concurrently expressing the Christian faith in a bold way.â€
Beck, who has provided design services for numerous mega churches in the US, has found its services more in demand internationally as well. This is the fourth church project in South Korea by Beck in recent years. Construction on the Joyful Church project is scheduled to begin in late 2011.
Website: www.beckgroup.com
