Situated in leafy north Oxford,
this beautiful church forms a peaceful sanctuary for its parish and locals.
The recently built front
extension creates a new threshold for the church, encompassing a large
multipart Flushglaze fixed rooflight from Glazing Vision.
The rooflight works to fill the
entrance lobby with natural daylight and helps to create a lofty, open space
with character.
Adrian James Architects were appointed to create this new front
extension, a project that presented some difficulties.
Building on the front of a listed
and loved church is something that requires very careful consideration by
multiple bodies, both statutory and corporeal. This said, the new addition
doesn’t try and hide the curious historical anomaly of the brick west wall.
Instead, it has been designed as if the church interior has continued to flow
out of the entrance doors and into a unique and welcoming glazed entrance.
Key to the project was to create
an area which would bring new life to the church and would help to draw in
people from outside the building, whilst also providing iconic views of the
church.
Having previously worked with
Glazing Vision on some large, private house projects, Adrian James Architects
sought out their expertise in providing a feature rooflight which would be a
main component within the new Narthex.
A generously sized multipart Flushglaze roof light, measuring 3922 x 2566mm, was chosen to
flood the new narthex space with plenty of natural daylight during the day. The product not
only works to draw people in from outside the building, but also draws visitors
back out of the church via the narthex after ceremonies. Three smaller fixed Flushglaze rooflights were installed throughout this
contemporary extension to help provide natural light into both the toilet and
kitchen areas.
This new modular Flushglaze rooflight
compliments the beauty of the church and provides a clear, frameless internal view of the new west gable window,
emphasising the importance of the church as both a community and religious
centre. Ryan Taylor of Adrian James Architects explains, “the finished result
is excellent; installation of the rooflight was straightforward and the units
appear seamless. The minimal detail is ideal from an architectural
perspective.”
With the rooflight running between two
existing buttresses, there were some complications as the architects learnt
that standard kerb detail couldn’t be switched over to an abutment detail
mid-run. However, with the advice of Glazing Vision, this was not difficult to
resolve and helped to create a positive working relationship, once again,
between both Adrian James Architects and Glazing Vision.
The new design has been
positively welcomed by English Heritage, the planners, the diocese, the parish
and the locals.
To find out more about design considerations for your next project, contact us on 01379 658 300 or request a CPD.
Read more
here
