Citylight Church began in 2012 with a small team who rallied behind the vision of seeing a church planted to bring the light of the gospel to every neighborhood in Omaha. For its expansion to West Omaha the church identified an abandoned big-box store to be repurposed as their newest location, transforming a once blighted building into a beacon for the neighborhood.
Morrissey Engineering developed lighting concepts derived from the church’s mission statement of a commitment to reveling in God’s act of reaching down, and us responding by reaching up, in, and out. These values are applied as lighting concepts throughout as gradients of light in various directions. Careful detailing ensured seamless integration of cove lighting with architecture.
At the new entrance orange panels reinforce the church brand with uplighting grounding the structure. Warm 2700K CCT creates an effect resembling candlelight (Lumenpulse Lumenfacade Inground). There are no other lights on the panels for a clean, inviting aesthetic. Glare is eliminated due to the location of luminaires, optics, and louvers.
Foyer lighting creates gradients of light in opposing directions on each wall, reinforcing the church values while accenting graphics and architectural features. The space is completely open to the worship area with cove lighting designed to draw visitors inside. (Selux, Ecosense, Indy)
Within the worship space, cylinder lights with hyperbolic reflectors maximize focus on the platform and eliminate glare (Indy). The wood structure is backlit to create a visual backdrop (Ecosense). Minimalist track lighting (Litelab) provides vertical key lighting for video-recording.
Owner: Citylight Church
Lighting Design: Morrissey Engineering – Omaha, NE
Photography: Tom Kessler