St. John the Baptist Parish of Howard celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003. The existing church seated 400; the parish had 5,000 parishioners. Dimension IV and the Horbinski Design Group were retained to develop a plan that would triple seating but “still retain the charm of a small church”. Additionally, the parish asked that the new space be warm, bright, airy, and uncluttered and “a holy place” with lots of natural light. Acoustics needed to be above average for traditional religious choral music, small ensembles and the spoken word. The result is a facility that captures the history of the parish while also seating nearly 1,400 people when additional chairs are set up. The 11 gothic windows of the new church match the existing windows and will allow for the art glass to be moved to the new church in the future. The radial pattern required only 14 rows (the old church had 19 rows) and the ceiling is lower over the majority of the ceiling. The acoustics support no amplification, but a sound system is included.