PLANNING FOR GROWTH
Reordering St Andrew's Church
The Church Centre, which is regarded as an exceptional facility for any church, is over ten years old now and still causes gasps of amazement from visitors. Unfortunately, the church itself which was largely unaltered by the building of the Centre does not provide the same feeling. As the church congregation has grown it has been the church which has proved inadequate for the increased numbers and has limited the options for worship required to meet the needs of those attending.
Most noticeable on moving to the Church from the Centre is the poor quality of the heating and lighting with both being inadequate for today's needs.
To this end a small team have been looking at options to improve not only the heating and lighting but the useable space and the visibility and audibility of those taking a part in the service. A number of schemes were considered but the one favoured by the PCC involved turning the focus of worship from the current east-facing direction to north-facing. This will provide more seating space but the option of utilising unused space in the courtyard by roofing it over and removing the 100 year old temporary south wall and replacing it with removable screening has been shelved for the present because insufficient funds were promised following the appeal to church members. Using this space was envisaged in the original plans for the Centre but was always seen as a future option and will remain so.
Below are artist impressions of how this proposal might look based on the full scheme. They are intended only to suggest the 'feel' of the arrangement and are not finalised in any way. To show more of the interior some aspects of the existing building are shown broken but no major structural alteration of the church is planned.
As the project has progressed it was decided to appoint Alex Clennett, a member of the congregation, as architect for the remainder of the work. Alex has produced a revised plan which can be seen here.
The heating is to be
underfloor as the most efficient form for the situation. After
discussion and a demonstration of a large section of flooring
temporarily laid in the church, the PCC decided on wood look-alike
ceramic tiles. Tiles with underfloor heating give the most efficient
means of heating the church effectively so it will always be warm when
the weather is cold. In the summer, the wood design will give the
appearance of wood warmness. Unlike the present tiled areas, the new
floor will be well insulated so should never feel as cold. A mock-up of
the dais design is available in church and Gordon Goodman will be
pleased to demonstrate after services on Sunday’s.
