2nd Place, Whole Building
St. John Armenian Church of Greater Detroit, Southfield, Mich., with its grand faceted gold dome, has served the local Armenian community for generations. The beauty of its sanctuary is undeniable. The attached cultural building, however, needed a major interior renovation. The goal was to modernize the facility with a “heritage meets modern” approach, imparting timeless elegance and showcasing the rich history and beauty of Armenian culture.
The architects took inspiration from the sawtooth form of the church’s concrete entry canopy. 
The architects raised the banquet hall ceiling in front of the curtain wall to 20 feet to add a significant amount of natural light and showcase the mid-century sawtooth curtain wall design. 
The renovation project encompassed the lobby, banquet room, bookstore, offices, classrooms, choir room, bridal suite, flex meeting rooms and restrooms. 
Additional height was gained in the lobby by inserting triangular acoustical fabric panels between the roof’s structural concrete tee-roof. 
Inspired by the sawtooth form of the church’s concrete entry canopy and lit by cove lighting, the ceiling exudes an ethereal glow. 
The spacious lobby features a 26-foot-long panelized mural by an Armenian artist. 
The sanctuary was updated with new energy-efficient LED lighting that dramatically highlights the existing architecture while improving parishioner visibility for reading during worship. 
New energy-efficient LED lighting with multiple settings was placed in the dome. 
The lighting design was carefully planned to provide just enough foot-candles at pew height. 
A ceiling “cloud” composed of elongated hexagonal coffers with cove lighting integrates with the sawtooth design of the curtain wall. 
BEFORE: St John Armenian Church of Greater Detroit required a major interior renovation to serve parishioners and guests into the future. PHOTO: McIntosh Poris Architects 
BEFORE: In the 900-person banquet hall, the existing drop ceiling blocked natural light and obscured the mid-century sawtooth curtain wall design. PHOTO: McIntosh Poris Architects 
The renovation included the church lobby, banquet room, bookstore, offices, classrooms, choir room, bridal suite, flex meeting rooms and restrooms. DRAWING: McIntosh Poris Architects 
The 1960s church has served the Detroit-area Armenian community for generations. DRAWING: McIntosh Poris Architects
PHOTOS: Justin Maconochie unless otherwise noted
McIntosh Poris Architects was inspired by the original 1960s Mid-century building and the Armenian symbolism of the church sanctuary. The architects worked closely with the church to research the history of Armenian designs and symbolism and analyze the use of geometry in the sanctuary for the design of the interior spaces throughout the complex.
The renovation of the 2-story cultural building included the lobby, banquet room, bookstore, offices, classrooms, choir room, bridal suite, flex meeting rooms and restrooms. McIntosh Poris Architects reconfigured the plan to address programmatic needs and revitalized the overall interior to create a unified design aesthetic for the building.
The materials palette includes glass, ornate woodwork, marble, stone, brick, rugs and textiles, as well as gold accents that recall the church’s iconic gold dome. The designers also utilized an elongated hexagon as a recurring formal motif throughout the building, abundant in traditional Armenian design and drawn from the use in the sanctuary’s woodwork.
The spacious lobby features a 26-foot-long panelized mural by an Armenian artist. The art wall features doves, an important Armenian symbol found on the sanctuary’s altar artwork. Designed to feel lofty and operate as a pre-function area, additional height was gained by inserting triangular acoustical fabric panels between the roof’s structural concrete tees. Lit by cove lighting, the ceiling exudes an ethereal glow.
In the 900-person banquet hall, the architects raised the ceiling in front of the curtainwall to 20 feet to add a significant amount of natural light, better showcasing the Mid-century sawtooth curtainwall design. Working with the triangular geometry of the curtainwall and accommodating a lowered structural area, the architects designed a ceiling “cloud” composed of elongated hexagonal coffers with cove lighting that integrates with the curtainwall’s sawtooth design. The hexagon motif also appears in the room’s custom carpet and custom wood doors.
The ceiling treatment is clever and beautiful.
Samantha Scimé, AIA, NCARB, architect, social media marketing director, KMF Architects
Retrofit Team
Architect and Interior Designer: McIntosh Poris Architects
General Contractor: Versa Core
Lighting Designer: Illuminart
MEP Engineer: Peter Basso Associates
Materials
Ceiling: Armstrong World Industries and CLIPSO
Countertops: ENVI Surfaces
Flooring: Hagopian, Interface, Mohawk Flooring, Patcraft and Shaw Contract
Plastic Laminate: Arborite and Wilsonart
Plumbing Fixtures: Bradley Co. and Kohler
Tile: Ciot, Daltile and Olympia Tile + Stone
