Idlewild Presbyterian Church

1750 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104 United States

Building Area (sf): 70,000

Completion: July 2019

Architect of Record:

brg3s architects

Jason Jackson - Lead Design Architect
Susan Golden - Project Manager

• Owner/Client:
• General Contractor: Linkous Construction
• Electrical: Kersey Wike Associates - Landscape Architects
  Burr & Cole - Civil Engineering
  Tahialini & Associates - Structural Engineering
  Thompson Engineering - MEP
  Chad Mellon - Photographer
• Engineering:
  
• Other:
  
• Photography:
  1. Main Entrance showing the translucent toggle glazed stair tower
  2. (Top Left) Plan showing view from the west. (Top Right) Original Childhood Education Center Entrance with Berm. Our design included the removal of this berm. (Bottom Left) Original Main Entrance from the West. The design removed this berm to create a more accessible entrance. (Center Bottom) Southwest View of Original Entrance (Bottom Right) Original basketball court/Recreation Room.
  3. Main Entrance with Facade Renovation - To help minimize heat gain while maximizing daylight from the west facade, the stair tower, and early education classrooms were designed utilizing high-performance translucent glazing.
  4. (Left)New Early Childhood Education Center Entrance. The existing berm was pulled away to create an accessible entrance and an egress plaza for the classrooms. (Right) Transition Details)
  5. Interior Main Entrance - The board-formed concrete and glazing stitches the addition and renovation together contrasting the original architecture and celebrating the new and improved functionality and accessibility.
  6. Reception/Entry
  7. Waiting Area
  8. Gymnasium
  9. First Floor Plan - (Legend) 1. Entry & Dropoff 2. Church Reception 3. New Elevator 4. Courtyard 5. Early Childhood Education Center 6. ECEC Entrance 7. Restrooms 8. Basketball Courts 9. Accessible Plaza and ECEC Egress
  
  9 (continued) Not shown: The Second and Third Floor was also renovated. The Third Floor was transformed from classrooms into a flexible fellowship hall. Full Renovations of circulation spaces and systems.
  
  10. Night View
  
  

The modernization of an iconic Midtown Memphis religious building, which included a newly formatted entryway, the addition of a new early childhood development center, and some much-needed ADA improvements and optimization.

In 1928, this collegiate gothic church was built in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. Throughout the century, the establishment has seen various changes, including a 70,000 sqft. mid-century modern addition education building in 1960. While there have been several renovations over time, this project resulted from a capital campaign for the major modernization of that addition. Limited accessibility, life safety concerns, and energy improvements had to be addressed, classrooms were outdated and clearly defined drop-off, and entry points were needed.
A major element of this renovation was the expansion and relocation of the existing preschool. The project added a 20,000 square foot space to the ground floor of the 3-story structure, for the preschool’s relocation and additional class space. Furthermore, an architect’s decision to bury half of the ground floor of the 1960’s addition with an earthen berm created accessibility issues. This integrated the primary entrance with the second level, forcing visitors to ascend and descend multiple flights of stairs to enter and access different floors. Renovations would trigger other required upgrades, including an emergency voice/fire alarm system and new HVAC systems, providing equipment that was more energy-efficient and improved safety precautions for the user.
A decision was made to remove the berm along the west façade, and to replace the submerged concrete exterior with a more inviting glass curtainwall. Rising three stories from the new entry is a new structurally glazed curtainwall with frosted glass which surrounds an existing stair tower. With this new, at-grade entrance to the education building, a remote alley ramp, added in the 1980s, was made obsolete. A new elevator provides access to all three levels of the education building and bridges that connect to the 1928 building at the second and third floors now provide handicapped access to all floors of both buildings.