The design of every place of worship must reflect the culture and purpose of the congregation and its ministry. Sunset Christian Center, the 83,000-square-foot Best in Class winner in the Religious category in Rocklin, Calif., is a solid example of how Tilt-Up construction can be combined with other construction materials to creatively construct a highly-visible facility that reflects its congregation.

Complicated by the varied end-uses of the facility – from a 2,000 seat religious sancutary to administraive and educational areas and a gymnasium – as well as a limited construction buget, Tilt-Up offered durability, speed and economy. Constructed in only 270 days, it was essential that the facility stand-out from the surrounding retail and commercial buildings.

In keeping with a contemporary theme, the use of primitive geometrics coupled with intersecting straight lines, serve to reinforce the culture of the church and its intended target market. The back wall of the worship center is a curved wall with a large radius. The radius was achieved economically by using segmented flat Tilt-Up concrete panels.

These panels also provided acoustical separation from the surrounding meeting and office spaces. At the gymnasium, a metal deck barrel roof was expressed by using steel “bowstring” profile trusses with curved topped Tilt-Up panels.

The central dramatic feature of the church is a cross tower formed from three rectangular enclosures, the highest of which is 52-feet above grade. The tower supports a 27-foot tall steel cross weighing over 5,000 pounds. The tower was constructed using Tilt-Up panels varying in size between 4-feet and 12-feet wide, allowing the tower to be erected in one smooth operation and finished using a boom lift.