Behind the Design: The Point Church - Ridge Street Campus

The Early Days

In the Summer of 2024, a couple of our team members started going to The Point Church. A few weeks later one of them sat down with one of the lead pastors, privately, to discuss some personal matters.

They briefly mentioned they were in the design industry and were working with Lamplight Design Studios, emphasizing that the company had just launched in Charlottesville and was focused on architectural design and historic preservation. The Pastor mentioned that The Point Church actually found itself in the process of renovating a historic church in Downtown Charlottesville, but they had already brought an architect on board.

To our complete surprise, The Point Church approached us a week later inviting us to help design the interiors of their new Ridge Street campus. It was completely unexpected. While our design team has worked on various types of buildings in their past careers, churches were a new concept for all of us.

We had questions.

What does that look like? What are best practices in designing for a “church home” aesthetic? How do we meet the modern needs of a contemporary church with the old structure? Among many others. Some design elements are universal, though - especially in the realm of historic preservation.

As with so many of our projects, this one started with a conversation.

The Point Church leadership met us on-site in September of 2024 to show us the aged and historic church building, sharing their desire for a design that reflected openness, light, warmth, and community connection. They shared a few of their ideas about how they hoped the space would be updated, as well as their technological requirements, and that was enough of a waypoint for us to get to work.

The existing historic building had good bones, but needed some updating.

Some areas needed more updating than others.

Design Iterations

Treating this like any other project, our first step was listening: to their stories, their ministries during Sunday services, and watching the rhythms of how they operate. This was going to be a church hosting Sunday services, sure, but throughout the week this was going to be home to “The Hub”, which would operate from the same space.

Working as a ‘community help desk’, “The Hub” allows community resources from all over Charlottesville to gather in a single centralized space to provide a "hub" for those in need.

That’s how we discovered the heart of the project: a design that invites everyone in, no matter where they are on their journey through life and no matter what their background looks like.

Since one of our team members spent their childhood in poverty, this project suddenly became very personal to all of us.

No detail was spared during the 3D modeling process.

From the earliest sketches, our goal was to let the architecture and design speak the language of welcome. To give the church congregation, and people using The Hub, a “wow” factor without intimidating or overwhelming them, while still respecting the historical aspects of the post-civil war church building.

After surveying the space, creating a 3D model, sketching, sketching some more, and bouncing ideas off of colleagues, we introduced two design options to The Point leadership that we felt played nicely with the building’s historical elements all while creating an open, warm, and, ultimately, inviting space.

Our first focus in refining the design was the head wall: creating a dramatic yet subdued focal point from the moment you walk through the Sanctuary doors. The new three-point arch began at the mezzanine, with a nod to the arch trim that had existed in the church space for decades. The original organ tubes would be reused to accent the sanctuary wall and resemble the spread of angel wings. The cove lighting within the three-point arch added visual interest and provided a focal point on the headwall.

Ultimately The Point chose the trim configuration of Option 2, with the mezzanine color scheme from Option 1.

For the hall entryway doors, we thought of a crazy idea – the building’s main doors featured a 150-year-old stained-glass transom. The vestibule’s doors had an aged, frosted glass transom above them. The glass itself, and the frames, were showing their age and needed some love.

What if we mimicked the exterior stained glass with something within these three transoms? 

Color and pattern-wise, there were plenty of reference points from the existing stained-glass windows.

What if the pattern was more specific to The Point Church? What if….hold on now - what if it was The Point’s logo?

The existing stained-glass windows have a red and gold focal point.

What if The Point’s logo was red, with a gold border?

We took this idea and ran with it, and it ended up becoming a key part of the design.

Upon entering the building, the existing stained glass transom honors the original congregation from 1867. This new design feature, just inside the main doors, would symbolize the "passing of the baton", from the original Mt Zion congregation, to The Point.

From old, to new.

And it would match the glass that's already there.

The first pass at the stained glass featured The Point Church's logo, with the opening date of the Ridge Street Campus.

The design evolved somewhat as we collaborated with The Point Church.

We worked directly with the stained glass manufacturer, Lynchburg Stained Glass, to make sure that the pattern we had drawn up could be fabricated without any issues. Input from Lynchburg Stained Glass was instrumental in what is now one of the focal points as you walk through the front doors.

The final design completed the green border, changed the date to The Point Church’s founding in 2009, and tweaked the “P” logo so that it filled the thin gold border. Image is courtesy of Lynchburg Stained Glass.

The new stained glass now welcomes everyone who enters The Point Church's Ridge Street Campus.

One of the most rewarding parts? Watching the first 3D renderings come to life and seeing the reactions from The Point’s leadership - and eventually from the congregation! It was an early glimpse of how design and faith can meet.

The Point loved a lot of our ideas, and as we left the first design meeting we were under strict instructions: don’t show anyone or discuss the project until it's been unveiled.

After the first meeting, it was a matter of refinement. Collaboration between us and The Point Church became crucial as we dialed in paint colors, lighting, and smaller focal points like the Coffee Bar and service desks.

Even the coffee service area was rendered, although structural requirements of the new stairs above significantly changed the final design.

In November of 2024, once most of the details were solidified, the final renderings were unveiled to the congregation and the public.

Much of the trim in the existing building was painted white and, over the years, had accrued layer after layer of paint. Taking inspiration from post-Civil War Victorian houses, we had the idea of adding color accents to the mezzanine trim, columns, and head wall trim.

Restoring the wood ceiling was also crucial, as the ceiling was the largest focal point in the whole space. The existing trusses would be painted a charcoal "iron ore" color to lead the eye downward toward the new arch, so the brightness of their previous white paint amongst the wood ceiling didn’t distract from services. This color also created a nostalgic “wrought iron” style theme that contrasted nicely with the warm ivory tones below.

We incorporated as many design cues as we could from every part of the existing historic church. We wanted to keep the heart of the church alive and reference it whenever possible. To that end, although we removed the existing stage with its distinctive side paneling, the new paneling emulated the same trim features on the new stage built in its place. In the final iteration it looks more like the stage has been moved rather than removed.

The original stage had very distinctive paneling...

...which we emulated in the new design. Even the existing arch trim, which was removed, is replicated as a light-filled cove above the stage.

We met with The Point Church’s Facilities and Administrative staff to assess small details like coffee equipment sizing for the new coffee bar, and we met with the A/V consultants on-site several times to figure out how the lighting and speakers would interact with the various design elements. This was crucial so that the speakers, sound booths, sound panels, and screens didn’t look like an afterthought. Instead they blended as seamlessly as possible with the overall design.

We worked directly with the stained-glass manufacturer, as well, to make sure that the stained glass pattern we had drawn up could be fabricated without any issues. Input from Lynchburg Stained Glass was instrumental in what is now one of the focal points as you walk through the front doors.

Budgetary Concerns

When The Point’s leadership had ideas for us, we worked with them to see how we could fit these ideas in with the overall design budget. One idea we had (that was ultimately scrubbed due to budget) was the idea of stencils on the interior bell tower walls that were a simplified version of the stained-glass windows. Stained glass sconces would be incorporated within these stencils and add more visual interest to the bell tower. The paint details and colors were drastically simplified as well, to save on budget but also to not detract from the Sanctuary headwall’s prominence.

As design wrapped up, some of these ideas were scrapped due to budgetary constraints. Since The Point Church relies entirely on donations and tithes, this project was about stewarding resources wisely so that the new facility could truly serve its mission for years to come, without having the appearance of flaunting millions of dollars on a high-end historical renovation. We all agreed that an overly embellished design would distract from The Point Church’s mission, which was to help the impoverished populations in areas within Charlottesville’s Downtown core.

The stencils and wall sconces were ultimately removed from the design, and the paint colors were drastically simplified not just to save on budget - but also so they didn’t distract from the headwall and the stained-glass windows, all while creating a tastefully simpler and more subdued sanctuary.

Painting The Ceiling

Once construction began in earnest, the Sanctuary Ceiling became its own design endeavor. The original wood ceiling had been covered with acoustic tiles for decades, and when they were removed – what a blessing! – the original wood was still in good shape for the most part.

The Point Church had requested the wood ceiling, which was white, be repainted to look like wood. We met with the painters on-site and collaborated to figure out a three-step process to bring the ceiling back to life.

Step one involved the intense process of cleaning the original wood, to remove layers of soot from decades of gas lighting and candle usage, and applying a base coat of gray primer.

Step two involved applying the paint that later became the base color– which, at first glance, turned the ceiling into something not unlike a Jack-O-Lantern:

This is when we all really had to trust the design process.

Otherwise this would be the first historical church with a Halloween color scheme.

After reassuring the client that the process was incomplete, step three became a design session of a different kind and something we brainstormed and collaborated with the painters – we agreed that a dark stain wash would darken the orange turning it into a rich, honey-colored wood tone. The painters gave us a few swatches to choose from and proceeded accordingly when we selected one, with client input.

The dark stain had to be greatly exaggerated, in order to give the ceiling the wood look we were going for.

The result was a realistically striking, warm natural wood color that draws the eyes upwards as soon as visitors walk in. With painters that executed the job perfectly, the ceiling became an overall striking feature of the sanctuary. The ambient cove lighting placed on each side of the ceiling creates an even more dramatic effect and, yet, still reads warm and inviting.

Finding the Small Focal Points – and Designing On The Fly

The more the painters worked, the more small details came to the forefront and the more we got to work with them directly. This is the nature of historic preservation projects - you can design to a point, but eventually the building and its existing conditions will start dictating parts of the design.

The original heart-pine windowsills on the large stained-glass windows were discovered to still be in place, but covered with layers of white paint, so they were sanded down and stained. These new wood accents provided the perfect counterpoint to the vibrant glass.

Playing on this concept of uncovering the original wood, the original stair railing in the corridor was discovered to be the same heart pine. This was sanded and stained to create a warm wood accent band that leads visitors up the stairs.

The wood accents continue up the stairs into the mezzanine to embellish the stained glass windows, rather than distract.

The stair treads, railings, and wall caps on the mezzanine were all stained to match, and the main entry doors were stained as well. While the original trim was all painted white, this little bit of surgical accenting was enough to tie the whole design together.

The Completed Design

The Point Church’s Ridge Street Campus would not have been possible without the extensive step-by-step collaboration between the Design Team, The Point’s leadership, and each of the trades that helped bring the design to life.

For us at Lamplight, this project is a reminder that architecture can be both sacred and practical. It can reflect beauty in everyday spaces, whether In a historic building in Charlottesville, or in a custom home. Regardless, this new facility will serve the communities of Charlottesville for years to come.

Whether we’re reimagining a historic home or shaping a new place of worship, our mission remains the same: to create designs that feel like home. For everyone.

If you'd like to see more photos of the completed project, visit the project page here

If you'd like to learn more about The Point Church and their mission with the Ridge Street Campus, visit their page here