“in the practice’s work there is recurring evidence that they know about how their buildings will be used, how they will be lived in and how they will change”
Charles Rattray – architectural critic and journalist
St.Michaels Church is a large and powerful building. The new accommodation is an assembly of buildings grouped around a courtyard. This performs a compositional role but it also symbolises the new openness and accessibility of the church. The rather forbidding exterior of the existing victorian church is included as an enclosing edge of a new exterior space which is welcoming to the public. In urban terms the scheme has created a new kind of outdoor space for the community. Although it is easily accessed off a public footpath it is nonetheless defined and relatively enclosed. It will serve as a meeting space for receptions, church functions and for nursery school use. Like a cloister it will serve too as a means of access, with a covered route connecting the buildings around it.
Location: Barnes, London
Status: Completed 2011
