SOUL Church

A Place for All: SOUL Church Blends Comfort, Versatility, and Eco-Conscious Design with Ferco

In the heart of Norwich, a new beacon of community and faith has emerged. On the 2nd of March, SOUL Church opened its doors as a place of worship and a vibrant hub of activity and connection. Founded on the vision of becoming a home for all seeking spiritual fulfilment and purpose, SOUL Church stands as a testament to resilience and renewal, rising from the ashes of the former Norwich Family Life Church, destroyed by fire in 2006.

The seating solution needed to be equally versatile and comfortable for such a dynamic space. Enter Ferco Seating, renowned for its innovative and ergonomic designs. Tasked with outfitting the new church with 850 seats, the challenge was clear: create an environment where congregants could connect deeply with their faith and community while ensuring durability and ease of maintenance.

Ferco Seating's Atlantic Padang (dark black / grey) coloured seats, including a soft close tip-up mechanism, proved to be the perfect fit for SOUL Church's vision. Designed with both comfort and functionality, the Atlantic seat offers a compact yet spacious design, ideal for maximising seating capacity without sacrificing comfort. Its cold-cure moulded foam ensures long-lasting support, while the polyurethane armrests provide durability unmatched by traditional fabric counterparts.

The fabric used is from Camira’s Xtreme range. Xtreme is a modern crepe weave fabric made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester, diverting waste from landfills and saving virgin raw materials. Another key feature that was important for the client was the inclusion of a mesh magazine holder on the backrest so that audiences had a space to access pamphlets/readings/hymn verses, etc.

Working closely with renowned architects Feilden+Mawson LLP and builders BDB Design, Ferco Seating seamlessly integrated the Atlantic seats into the newly constructed space. The Atlantic seats' ergonomic design and maintenance-friendly features ensured a smooth installation process, allowing SOUL Church to focus on its mission from day one. The overall project included the 1200-seater auditorium, a nursery, learning, youth hall and respite facilities, a café, office space and a drop-in work hub. SOUL Church hopes the facility will become a community space for all, and we are very proud to have been involved.

Since the installation of the Atlantic seats, SOUL Church has experienced a transformation in its worship experience. Congregants now enjoy enhanced comfort and support during services, community events, and various group activities hosted throughout the week.

With Ferco Seating's Atlantic seats, SOUL Church has not only achieved its goal of creating a vibrant and inclusive community space but has exceeded expectations in providing a comfortable and enriching worship experience.