LA PROPOINT LENDS ENGINEERING EXPERTISE TO COTTONWOOD CHRISTIAN CENTER

Brings Light to a New Church in Cypress

(Sun Valley, Calif.) March 27, 2008 – LA ProPoint, Southern California’s leader in the design, engineering, fabrication and installation of stage and show systems, announced today that it is nearing the completion of its work on the Cottonwood Christian Center.

Although construction of the church’s new 30-acre campus in Cypress, California kicked off in 2006, LA ProPoint only began work on-site in early 2008.  Nevertheless, the company’s contribution will have a crucial impact on the congregation’s experience of the sanctuary in the very near future.

“Our work at Cottonwood Christian Center exemplifies our flexibility,” explained Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LA ProPoint.  “Whether we are called in at the conceptual drawings phase, or at the stage when finishing work is taking place, as was the case here, the LA ProPoint team is able to jump in feet first to provide what is necessary to move a project toward completion.”

LA ProPoint was tapped for the Cottonwood project by Jeff Barr of Academy Lighting Design in Burbank who required the team’s assistance to bring his vision to fruition.  Barr’s plan included a number of moving light fixtures that needed to be mounted on “light lifters” attached to three catwalks above the audience. The space is being designed for very heavy television and video use.  Using Barr’s original concept as a springboard, LA ProPoint sought ways to accommodate the church’s architectural features while maximizing lighting positions, access to fixtures and sightlines.  The team engineered a solution for audience lighting in the sanctuary that involved coordinating the work of steel framers and wallboard installers to locate side lighting battens at the edges of the sanctuary.  The team also installed smoke vent release systems as well as fixed lighting and scenery battens above the stage. 

“The members of the LA ProPoint team are creative professionals.  They are also excellent collaborators,” said John Murray, senior project manager, of J.D. Diffenbaugh, Inc., the project’s general contractor.  “They have respect for their fellow trades people and are able to work efficiently in a busy construction environment.”

As the project nears completion, LA ProPoint is busy installing several moving line sets for scenery and lighting as well as lighting pipes above the stage. One key tool they have been experimenting with along the way is the JR Clancy Powerlift, which is being used to motorize the scenic batten. The Powerlift is relatively new, having only been on the market for a year, but its flexible and convenient design simplifies LA ProPoint’s approach to meeting the challenges of the space.

“The LA ProPoint team is known for its innovative approach to challenges,” said Harvey Sweet, vice president of the company.  “Our goal at Cottonwood Christian Center was to respect the architecture of the new sanctuary while making it possible to install a sophisticated, state-of-the-art lighting system that will show off the space and enhance the sensory experience of being a congregant in the church.”

Cottonwood Christian Center is scheduled to open to the public in June 2008.

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