Cultural/Worship, Award of Merit: The Arboretum at Christ Cathedral, Garden Grove
In 1961, Robert Schuller—a Protestant minister who went on to commission the Crystal Cathedral, which is also sited at the 34-acre Garden Grove campus—hired architect Richard Neutra to design the first "drive-in" church that included a balcony from which Schuller could preach to congregants who stayed in their parked cars. In 2012, the Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the campus and began transforming it into a worship and meeting place. The renovation included facade-glass replacement, a seismic structural retrofit and building system upgrades, such as under-floor air conditioning. The project team successfully met an expedited delivery schedule while designing and installing contemporary systems in a way that remained faithful to Neutra's original vision.
Key Players
Contractor Cannon Building
Owner Christ Catholic Cathedral Corp.
Architect LPA Inc.
Structural Engineer J.S. Dyer
Civil Engineer Joseph C. Truxaw and Associates Inc.
Mep Engineer Syska Hennessy Group
Lighting Design tk1sc Collaborative; The Ruzika Co.
