After a tragic fire, the community of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Amarillo, Texas, needed a new home for worship. Their treasured past and great hopes for the future came together in a church that pays homage to the past while creating the necessary space for building new memories and opportunities.
The design referenced the church building’s Gothic Revival predecessor and the English Anglican heritage of the denomination. At the same time, the challenge was to accommodate the massive new organ, and complement the church’s contemporary context. Overland developed a style they called “Palo Duro Gothic” referencing the sweeping canyon in the Texas Panhandle.
Geological formations of the canyon inspired the steeples and spires of the church, and the windows were designed to draw worshippers gaze out to the expanses of Texas’s “Big Sky Country.” Using material quarried from the surrounding area, the church maintains a connection to its context and history.
Several buildings make up the site, including one salvaged from the original complex. The buildings are organized around a central courtyard containing shady oaks, treasured by the community.
The crowning achievement of the sanctuary space is the acoustics, designed to showcase the organ. Organists from around the world have given recitals at the church, making it a cultural asset to the community, as well as a home for its congregation.