A project by Roz Barr Architects to restore and refurbish St Augustine’s Roman Catholic church, an unlisted Edwardian church in Hammersmith, London, won the 2019 Presidents’ Award, given for new church buildings and new designs in re-ordering, alteration, or extension.
The project has already won the 2018 RIBA London Award and the 2018 RIBA National Award.
The Duke of Gloucester, Vice President of the National Churches Trust, presented the Presidents’ Award, a chalice and paten, commissioned by the Incorporated Church Building Society, and made after World War II, together with a £500 cheque, to the winners.
Speaking about the work at St Augustine’s, Luke March, Chairman of the National Churches Trust said:
‘This project has liberated a cluttered interior and brings new life and movement into the building. Of particular note is the collaboration between art and architecture with new sacred spaces including a new altar, confessionals, lecterns, candle stands and a daringly contemporary tabernacle.’
Bethnal Green Mission Church by architects Gatti Routh Rhodes was Highly Commended for the Presidents’ Award. This entirely new church forms the heart of a new urban block which includes a community centre, a café and 14 flats.
Luke March, Chairman of the National Churches Trust said:
‘The creation of a new church within and often paid for by a larger development is very much a building type for the modern age. Bethnal Green Mission Church is a very well done example of this new type.’
The Awards are run by the National Churches Trust and the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association (EASA) and the winners were announced at a ceremony held at the church of St Mary Magdalene in Paddington, London on Thursday, 31st October 2019.
Commenting on the work of the National Churches Trust and the UK Church Architecture Awards, Luke March, Chairman of the National Churches Trust said:
‘The National Churches Trust exists to support churches, chapels and meeting houses so that they remain at the heart of the communities for which they were built and can continue to play an integral part in all our lives.’
‘The work of architects and surveyors is so important in keeping churches open and in use.’
‘We are delighted for our partnership on the UK Church Architecture Awards with the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association. I am very grateful to their President Bob Thompson and Vice President Graeme Renton.’
‘A particular thanks go to the judges who include HRH The Duke of Gloucester, Bob Allies, Founder of the architectural practice Allies and Morrison and to The Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’s church, Piccadilly, who joined the panel for the first time this year.
Photos of the winning and highly commended projects are available here.
