j. michael holliday, aia, associate
PERSONAL PROFILE
As the son of an award-winning architect, Michael was raised in the field of architecture and design. Some of his earliest childhood memories involve assisting his father with the planning and design of some of southwest Florida’s largest church congregations. After receiving a Bachelor of Design Degree with highest honors from the University of Florida School of Architecture, Michael moved to California to pursue his Master of Architecture Degree at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. Graduating #1 in his class, he received the AIA Gold School Medal for Excellence in the study of architecture and was the recipient of several school honors and certificates of merit. He worked with nationally recognized architects Victor Gruen Associates of Los Angeles, and Arthur Erickson Architects of Beverly Hills.

Michael has been an architect and principal partner with the award-winning firm of DesignARC Architects for the past 14 years. His experience in design, planning, and business development has helped the firm to establish their Los Angeles and Orange County offices serving the entire California marketplace. Michael is a licensed architect in California, Florida, and Nevada and has been involved in the design of a number of significant churches and commercial projects. His firm recently received the 2003 Small Business of the Year Award for the Santa Barbara Region and he received the 2003 Green Award for his firm’s design efforts in sustainable and energy conscious design. He was recognized as A Small Businessman of the Year in 2002 by the National Republican Congressional Committee, is a past President of the AIA Santa Barbara Chapter, and was recently recognized as a 2003 member of Strathmore’s Who’s Who Among Design professionals.

Michael has also been a musician for most of his life. As a worship leader for the past 12 years and has experienced the joys and growing pains of watching his home church grow from a two hundred to several thousand adults within a few short years. He is a church deacon, home group leader, and has served as the architect for his own church involving almost 39,000 sf. He is married to his wife of 18 years and has three young sons all of whom are musicians. Michael is currently involved in the design or construction of almost a dozen new church facilities throughout California.

DesignARC Architects
DesignARC is an award winning multi-disciplinary architecture and interior design firm with fully staffed offices in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Orange County California. With over 27 years of award winning experience, the firm was recently recognized as the largest architectural firm in the tri-county area. DesignARC has a strong and varied background in church programming, planning, design, interiors, and construction administration. The firm’s extensive background and experience in programming and planning helps churches to identify their unique “vision and calling” for congregational worship, expanded ministry, and planned growth to meet the needs of their local community.

CONSULTING SERVICES
Michael’s expertise: Programming, Planning, Architecture, and Interior Design

SERVICES OFFERED
Church Growth Planning and Programming, Site Feasibility Analysis and Consulting Services, Site Master Planning, Building Design, Interior Design, Visual Analysis, Computer CAD Modeling, Lighting Design, Fixtures, Furnishing & Equipment Specification, Consultant Team Coordination, Planning & Zoning Permit Coordination

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Michael’s experience from 1981 to the present encompasses a broad range of project types including churches, schools, health care facilities, medical and corporate facilities, and high-end interior design projects. His experience in the design and planning of churches has included master planning and building design for a number of large and small church campuses throughout California. Michael was the principal architect in charge of a recently completed $65 million UCSB Manzanita Village Housing project. Auditorium sizes have ranged from smaller 100 seat sanctuaries and multi-use auditoriums to larger 4,500 seat community performance facilities. Incorporating a broad range of complex project experience, Michael seeks to lead the design team and consulting engineers through an evaluative design process where all possible options are considered, alternatives are evaluated, and to consensus reached as to the best possible design solution. As a leader in the field of Green and Sustainable Design he seeks to create inspired architecture that works, and design solutions which are functional and yet minimize the short and long term impacts on the environment.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Past President, American Institute of Architects (AIA)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
The Sustainability Project
Built Green, Board Member
Chamber of Commerce
Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara
National Preservation for the Historic Trust

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Creating inspired architectural solutions that meet the functional needs of the client within an approved budget and schedule are the primary challenges of the design team. Beyond this responsibility lies the realm of great timeless architectural solutions. My practice and my work has been based on the concept of doing more with less and in developing flexible design solutions which not only work well now, but ones with an eye toward the future. My firm and I have won dozens of AIA Design Awards (given by our architectural peers) which recognize the fact that we consistently strive to do design better and to look for new and innovative ways to solve old problems. We enjoy working with other creative team members and clients to design architectural solutions that inspire those who inhabit and use the facilities on a regular basis. We bring a high level of energy and enthusiasm to the design process and always strive to do the best job possible as a good steward of the talent, resources, and abilities God has given us. As Winston Churchill well stated “ We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.” Our goal is to take our charge seriously, to have fun, and to enjoy the process of working with clients and consulting engineers to create great facilities for worship and ministry.