Through the choreography of careful insertions, Cathedral HQ’s refurbishment plays on the juxtapositioning of old and new to accentuate the qualities of both. Within the Grade II* listed St. Thomas’s Church (neglected and on English Heritage’s ‘at-risk’ register when work started), a raised balcony floor is placed to extend the amount of usable floor space, whilst the below-ground crypts are reinvented as meeting rooms and support spaces. The architectural strategy for the fit-out was generated by both the physical restrictions of the existing building and the philosophy of the occupier; the varied flexible working environments are characterful and promote creativity, and can all be dismantled or reconfigured if needs be. The church’s existing panelling, the inserted new joinery and the void between the balconies are all adapted, utilised or configured to discretely conceal services to the three internal floors.

2008
Location
Southwark, London
Cost
£1.3 Million
Client
Cathedral Group

Allford
Hall
Monaghan
Morris