Buildings
Foster’s First Religious Building Placed on Hold
(archrecord.construction.com - 08/10/2006)
By Sam
Lubell and David Sokol
On Tuesday a British parish withdrew
plans to renovate and expand St. Paul’s Church, Onslow
Square, that were designed by Foster and Partners. The project
would have been Norman Foster’s first religious building
type. And while parish officials say they will continue to
retain Foster’s design services, the design promises
to be “severely modified.”
Not to be confused with St. Paul’s
Cathedral, the 12,000-square-foot Victorian landmark structure
is located in the Chelsea section of London and was constructed
in 1860. Because of its state of disrepair, the congregation
relocated to Holy Trinity Brompton, another church in the
parish, in the late 1970s.
The congregation comprises many progressive,
young people, inspiring Foster’s team to propose a sleek
steel-and-timber interior in the vacant historic building, plus
a three-story addition with glazed volumes containing prayer
rooms and residential units protruding from the new building’s
roof. To keep the spotlight on the original church, the extension
would have been shorter than neighboring Georgian mansions,
and largely clad in the same crumbly, cream-colored Kentish
Ragstone as the existing church.
Parishioners ultimately expressed displeasure
with the scheme. “We've been discussing this project
since January with the local residents, and although some
concerns have certainly been raised, we weren't aware of the
strength of feeling [against the plans],” says Mark Elsdon-Dew,
spokesperson for Holy Trinity Brompton with St. Paul’s
Church, Onslow Square. “That came to light once we had
submitted the planning application.”
Elsdon-Dew says that letters of objection
stressed many aspects of the plans, but concedes that Foster’s
juxtaposition of historic and modern structures “has
been mentioned.” The parish is inviting the community
to speak up, he adds: “There are quite a number of key
residents we have to have meetings with, learn their vision
and their concerns. We're not intending on doing anything
until we've had those meetings.” There is no timetable
for Foster to revise and resubmit the design.
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