We were invited to take part in a limited competition for a new church and parish hall in Heswall along with two other local practices.
We looked to create a design that engaged with the user and the street while keeping some of the traditional church typology. As a significant public building we leaned towards classicism and incorporated the iconic colonnade to mediate between the street and interior and to provide a permanently established external semi-public space.
It was unusual for us to have to develop a design without any client input as we like to work closely with our clients to arrive at a design. We like bricks, and as the predominant material along the high street we suggested that this would be an appropriate material for the front elevation of the building facing the street - unfortunately the church parochial council never liked bricks!