Lordshill Church
Location: Southampton
Type: Church
Service: Feasibility
Description: Church extension and reordering to host and welcome the local community
We are working with Lordshill Church on the feasibility of expanding their building at the centre of the local community.
In responding to the practical challenge of needing more space for worship and hospitality we have expanded the architectural question to how the church engages, hosts and welcomes the local community.
As an urban area built in the late 20th century its planning is based around the motorcar and lacks the organic centre of a marketplace, village green or town square that usually identifies a community centre.
The church forms part of a cluster of buildings including a library and a pub that could be reimagined as the community centre. A permissive path brings many people through the church site and past its side elevation, but the architecture of the church and frontage does not support engagement.
Our proposal extends the church and moves the front entrance to the side elevation.
Internally, this allows a new lobby to provide access to the new worshipping space and what would become the new hall to facilitate concurrent uses.
Externally, it reimagines the side garden as a public space to host the local community as they slow and dwell within the space. The broadside of the church is visually and physically permeable to welcome and reach the local community.
Key conceptual design moves:
1. Location – Recognise the central position of the church within the local community who cross through and past the church on a permissive path
2. Extend – Extend the church to the rear to increase capacity for worship and community activities
3. Reorientate – Move main entrance to side elevation for improved circulation and address community on front doorstep
4. Engage – Host community with public garden space and welcome them with visually and physically permeable frontage
