The Potter's House

Location: Dallas, Texas
Approximate Square Footage: 190,000+

The Potter's House has approximately 8,000 seats in the sanctuary, a supporting 400 seat chapel, an 18,000+ square foot lobby, and various "back-of-house" areas including security rooms, offices, garage, and a 1350 ton central plant.

A special feature of this project was the acoustic demands requiring the MEP design to be well coordinated with the acoustical consultant. The challenge became greater as the air handling units were to be mounted on low roof areas directly connected to the worship center. Working together with the acoustical consultant and the air handling unit manufacturer's representative, the mechanical design utilized fully custom units incorporating sound attenuators inside the unit as well as coordination of additional sound attenuators outside the unit. The rooftop mounted air handling units had to be specified to be constructed in a manner that prevented sound from "breaking-out" of the unit and penetrating into the sound sensitive areas. The ductwork layout had to be designed to reduce the noise potential in the sanctuary.

Since The Potter's House is broadcast on cable television, there was a need for specialized electrical systems. The electrical system was designed to support the heavy load brought on by the theatrical and architectural lighting systems. Careful planning was required to provide the client with an electrical system that did not create interference with broadcast systems. Coordination took place with the theatrical consultant throughout the design phase to ease the construction of the systems.