Wimbledon Congregational Church
Wimbledon, Greater London
Up to 1957 Wimbledon Congregational Church met in the hall known as the Memorial Hall which is now rented by Building Blocks Nursery.
Phillips Tracey Architects have updated and extended Donhead Preparatory School in Wimbledon to incorporate four new classrooms, an auditorium, a double height art room and a 50 seat chapel.
The chapel is the centrepiece of the new work, it enables the school to hold mass services, prayer services and the daily examen for individual classes at the end of the school day. The main south facade is enriched by the new extension and hints at the schools Jesuit identity, with the gabled facade of the new chapel continuing the informal gabled elevation of the existing school.
Inside the chapel, a roof lantern sits above the altar, within the exposed timber roof cassettes, which express the buildings construction. A stained glass window forms a focal point to the room and sensitively juxtaposes old with new. Externally, the lantern continues the rhythm of chimneys seen on the original building.
A limited palette of materials has been used, to reflect the simplicity of the overall design concept and blend with the existing buildings. Staff and pupils were actively involved in the design process and a number of workshops were undertaken with the children to help develop the design of the stained glass window to the chapel. Bespoke seating was also designed and commissioned for the chapel.