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Lutron Shades Help United a Worship Community

08/12/2013 by Lighting Controls Association Leave a Comment

Second Baptist Church is a vibrant community of more than 60,000 members across multiple campus locations. The Senior Pastor, Dr. Edwin Young, is committed to serving the entire church community whether they are able to attend services in person, or remotely through the church’s worldwide broadcast ministry.

To meet this broadcast goal, the church offers both live stream and recorded worship services each week from the recently remodeled Worship Center at the Woodway location in Houston, Texas. Lutron shades help to manage daylight from the 10,000 sq. ft. windows, ensuring a beautiful service whether it is experienced live or via remote broadcast.

Challenge

One of the most majestic and unique features of the Worship Center—a 10,000 square foot wall of breathtaking art glass—greatly enhances the impact beauty of each service, but can also cause glare and heat that plays havoc with hi-definition video production. David Hatton, founder of Churchworx and Facilities Electric, called on the Lutron Shading Solutions group to help him create the perfect daylight balance.

Looking for a shading solution that could accommodate the huge expanse of glass—perhaps the largest art glass installation in any North American church—Mr. Hatton’s goal was to provide his client with shades that maximized the beauty of the windows and helped create a comfortable environment throughout the year. He also recognized that Lutron shades offered flexible features to enhance every type of worship service, performance, or the many community events scheduled in the space.

Solution

Lutron offered the most effective solution—a motorized, low-voltage, dual roller shading system. The dual roller system includes sheer shades on one set of rollers to temper the bright daylight without diminishing the beauty of the art glass, and a full blackout option on the second set of rollers for candlelight services, video presentations, and recording. The shades also reduce heat gain, which lowers the facility’s air conditioning costs—a significant achievement given the climate in Houston.

Designing shades for such a large expanse of glass is no small feat. Eighteen roller shades move in perfect unison at the touch of a button, and can be controlled remotely to complement the speaker’s message and visual media. The shades move silently and smoothly, ensuring that the congregation is focused on the service, and not distracted by motor noise. When the sheer shades are lowered, light transmittance is reduced by 30%, creating an enhanced experience for all those in attendance and providing the appropriate light for HD videography.

Results

Dr. Young is pleased to invite the world into Second Baptist’s worship services through national and international broadcasts. The shades installation allows him to emphasize his message and use the windows to echo the symbolism of light and enlightenment. In both the live weekly services and video broadcasts, the Lutron shading system enables the expanse of windows to serve as a beautiful backdrop to sermons and musical performances.

David Hatton adds that the shade operation is ultra-quiet, and the shades move quickly—these features are critical to timing, and help to emphasize Dr. Young’s dramatic message about darkness and light. The shades also have a direct effect on projected media, prevent problems with video recording, and help maintain focus on the primary purpose of the service.

By using Lutron shades to control light, glare and heat, Dr. Young and his staff can lead all participants—whether in person or via online broadcast—in a highly-focused worship experience.

Filed Under: House of Worship, Lutron Electronics Co., Products, Projects

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