Watermark Community Church Dallas, Texas

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Expertise

Worship
Masterplanning
Cultural

Size

235,000 SF

More than a Box to Check on Sundays

We created a welcoming environment for people to spend every day of the week. We combined a smart, phased approach with distinguished design features to reflect the Watermark community and provide a place for openness and worship at any time.

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Forging a New Transparency

Watermark wanted to forge a new transparency for church: anyone is welcome and all are invited—focusing on un-intimidating experiential spaces that could challenge pre-conceived notions about how a church is “supposed to feel.”

We don’t want people to feel like they have to whisper when they walk in.

Todd Wagner, Senior Pastor

62 Small group rooms with flexible walls
9 250-Seat Multi-Purpose Meeting Rooms
4 Black-Box Theaters
3 Floors dedicated to staff offices & conference rooms

Designing with the Future in Mind

Our approach to the Watermark process was highly focused on not only the immediate, but the prospective needs of the congregation over time. We wanted to create an environment that would not only bring the church family together at the present but that would also endure and continue to serve them well into the future.

Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive reuse of the existing 8-floor tower and a Masterplan phased across 10 years enabled Watermark to build the campus on cash as funds were available. A sky bridge links The Tower to a new interim worship building that opens to the baptismal pond, lawn and firepit. Inside the simple glass box lobby is a coffee bar and 2 levels of community spaces for socializing outside the 2,100 seat auditorium.
Wise Stewardship

Wise stewardship—using wisely what we already had—motivated our long-term plan for the interim worship building to later become the home of Watermark Kids. So, this building’s structural and mechanical systems were designed with its future modification in mind.
Warm & Welcoming

A curtainwall façade uses sliding windows for doors to create an indoor-outdoor experience. To anyone outside looking in, this delivers a clear expectation and invitation to come inside the Town Center that leads into a 4,000-seat auditorium.

10 Year Masterplan

Thanks to adaptive reuse of the existing 8-floor tower and a Masterplan phases across 10 years, the campus was built on cash as funds were available.

1999
2003
2005
2007
2011-2013
Town Center
Auditorium
Watermark Kids
Chapel

1999
The founding members of Watermark Community Church begin meeting in a high school.
2003
Watermark purchases an existing 8-story building on 13 acres of land, which also has unique access to a greenbelt. Today, Watermark is oriented toward the greenbelt—using the building as a buffer between the freeway and its community spaces.
2005
Each floor in an existing 8-floor tower is retrofit to serve the growing Watermark congregation.
2007
A sky-bridge links the tower to a new interim worship space and a glass box lobby that opens to the baptismal pond, lawn and firepit.
2011-2013
Watermark officially completes the flagship campus—affording its membership four new permanent amenities.
Town Center
An open lobby feeds into the new worship auditorium and creates a space that facilitates social fellowship
Auditorium
A 4,000 seat auditorium connected to a state-of-the-art Video Production Facility for controlling on-stage screens, and producing Watermark’s notable webcast.
Watermark Kids
On the 1st floor, 15 rooms comprise an infant nursery, and with movable room partitions to allow varying sizes, there’s up to 60 classroom spaces for the children’s ministry. On the 2nd floor is an adaptable multi-purpose space available for other worship events and planned social functions.
Chapel
A 350-seat chapel was designed with a traditional approach and with reclaimed pews.

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More Than a Building

Watermark is a place of connection and community, designed to bring their members together through a series of comfortable, intimate spaces such as the loft, living room and patio.

Key People

Recognition

2014 Religious Architecture: New Facilities Faith & Form magazine and The Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA)
2008 Design Award Worship Facilities
2007 Juror's Commendation American Institute of Architects, Dallas Chapter