A new building that honours the old Arts & Crafts church (1913)
The project was completed in 2012, having been granted a first time planning approval. The accommodation, which included includes a church hall, ancillary rooms for Sunday schools, bible groups, office facilities and an entrance foyer also connected to the church itself, via a contemporary steel framed glazed link, allowing access between the buildings.
Brief
It was required by the client that although not listed, the design for the new building be developed to respect the integrity of the Arts and Crafts character of the original church, which was built in 1913. It was therefore connected by a minimum intervention, frameless glazed link, and a new fully glazed lobby constructed externally, from which the church and the new building could be jointly accessed. The extensive glazing allows the original church entrance to still be clearly read from externally, and the glazing was canted to minimise reflections.
A new, stone arched opening was formed into the rear of the church, to allow pas-sage from the nave directly into the church hall behind. A key aspect of the brief was that the church should remain open through the build project.
The design minimised the visual impact on neighbours.
Project Challenges
The project presented multiple challenges, including a steep change in ground level at the rear of the site, necessitating retaining structure behind the narrow terrace area behind. This was partially concealed within careful landscaping to mitigate its visual impact. From a positive aspect, this helped absorb any impression of over-bearing scale from the neighbouring residential properties.
The project was the first on which an Air Source Heat Pump was specified. Client feedback has reported that it has been hugely successful and resulted in significant electricity cost savings over the years.
Overall, we were very pleased with the design outcome, which provides generous community spaces, but the overall impact from the street frontage is very modest, and does not compete with the primacy of the original church building.
