St Andrew's Centre
Refurbishment and accessibility project
This project remodels what was originally the Victorian village school into a centre for all sectors of this thriving community. At the heart of the scheme is a large hall for 120, and a smaller hall, with dedicated children’s toilets, designed for the ‘Stepping Stones’ playgroup. To the rear is a courtyard space accessible from both Halls and which provides a play space for the pre-school and elsewhere a church office, and upper hall used by youth groups and others, and some smaller meeting rooms and offices. Meanwhile, the front of the building has been transformed with a stylish cafe providing a warm gesture of welcome.
Two of the three halls were retained and rebuilt. In the biggest visible change from the street, the space between these two halls has been used for a new glazed entrance and the main seating area of the café, which includes some external seating under a glazed Veranda. This helps to animate the building, with some of the life within it extroverted to the street, with conversations regularly taking place between passers-by and those sitting at café tables.
The site, which is in a conservation area, was extremely tight, and the retention of major elements of the Victorian buildings meant that a careful sequencing of the works was essential. The building opened in 2014, and is increasingly well-used for a wide range of community-based activities; the St Andrew’s Centre website gives more information on the life of the building.
The building offers a lesson in loose-fit design
Two of the three halls were retained and rebuilt. In the biggest visible change from the street, the space between these two halls has been used for a new glazed entrance and the main seating area of the café, which includes some external seating under a glazed Veranda. This helps to animate the building, with some of the life within it extroverted to the street, with conversations regularly taking place between passers-by and those sitting at café tables.
The site, which is in a conservation area, was extremely tight, and the retention of major elements of the Victorian buildings meant that a careful sequencing of the works was essential. The building opened in 2014, and is increasingly well-used for a wide range of community-based activities; the St Andrew’s Centre website gives more information on the life of the building.
The building also offers a lesson in loose-fit design. Due to demographic changes, combined with the difficulty in sourcing volunteers, the ‘Stepping Stones’ playgroup closed in 2020; the church continues to serve those families in the community with small children through its thriving Baby Club and Toddlers groups, for which the building remains well-suited. It does however underline the need to periodically reimagine our activities in response to broader changes in the community; this is made much easier if buildings are designed in the first place to allow a degree of such reimagining. All part of what is already a rich narrative.
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