26 C O N T E X T 1 1 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 IHBC Annual School 2010 IHBC Annual School 2009 IHBC Annual School 2010 We were met by architect Tim Lynch, who guided our party around the intricacies of the scheme. Far more than just a place of worship and church hall, this is a project combining the conventional church spaces with social care facilities, residential apartments and underground crypts and vaults serving a variety of uses. Above ground the churchyard has been completely re-configured. It provides versatile and practical spaces for contemplation and reflection, and with a greatly enhanced pedestrian route between St Martin’s Place and Adelaide Street. These changes conceal the delights beneath the surface, where Nash’s early 19th century burial vaults – designed for the dead and not for the living – have been scooped out and replaced by double-height basement accommodation. Nearby, opposite the church, the north range of secular buildings has been refurbished to create dynamic and flexible spaces for the Connection, one of the UK’s largest and busiest organisations working with the homeless. The new subterranean development is accessed through a new free-standing and fully DisabilityDiscrimination-Act-compliant entrance pavilion – a stripped down, all-glass, business-like version of one of Gibbs’s temples at Stowe. Further east, also on the pedestrian route, a circular stone balustrade subtly conceals a broad light well which distributes daylight through to the two underground storeys. Descending the pavilion staircase, we arrived in a spacious foyer with a shop. Here the simply detailed and well-configured spaces interconnect with each other and link through to the worship space at ground level, serving visitors, the local community and the spiritual life of the parish. Demolishing Nash’s vaults enabled the basement to go deeper and to link with the church crypt, creating more generous and attractive spaces with enhanced circulation and means of escape. The new basement spaces flow through into the brick-and-stone vaulted crypt directly below the nave. This subtly lit, atmospheric space is given over entirely to the café, with kitchen and offices beyond. Here the historic floor was removed and re-laid to install services, including ducting for ventilation – a major issue for the underground spaces. The re-laid floor incorporates many of the earlier paving flags and memorial tablets, including those from the Nash vault – all carefully redistributed so that the best examples fall in the least trafficked areas. Nearby, subtly hidden beneath the portico, a narrow monument gallery houses the best of the wall monuments from the crypt and vaults. What I found particularly interesting was how much of the success of the below-ground spaces is down to the innovative and subtle use of artificial light, which appears where it is needed and no more. Above ground, the nave and chancel have been improved with a lighter touch, removing improvised and ill-conceived alterations from the past, re-ordering and redecorating to provide a more authentic and versatile worship space. The striking new east window by Shiazeh Housiary and Pip Horne is one of the more controversial creations. The impressive renewal of St Martin-in-theFields has created modern facilities. It has enabled St Martin’s to serve those in greatest need better, and to enrich lives through worship, social care and internationally renowned musical performances in spaces fit for the purpose. The project has received a host of awards, from the Civic Trust, the Georgian Group, the RIBA, Europa Nostra and others. To quote Nicholas Holtam, vicar of St Martins: ‘these are buildings that lift the spirits.’ Stewart Ramsdale Royal Albert Hall tour The roof-top tour of the Royal Albert Hall was led by Bob Stagg, director of Conisbee structural engineers. The visit brought to life his presentation on the subject given the day before. Original grand plans for the Albert Hall envisaged that it would seat 30,000 people. When eventually it was built in 1871 it accommodated 7,000. It was still Europe’s largest concert hall. The Victorians being great innovators, the hall was constructed with a glass-domed roof, built in Manchester. Weighing 400 tons, the steel structure was rigorously tested but it was impossible to tell how would actually perform on site. Once installed, the dome dropped only 5/16ths of an inch. The dome functions as a beam and an arch, with the corona acting as a keystone. Conisbee has carried The new development at St Martin-in-the-Fields (Photo: Jon Finney)
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