The vision is to enhance the experience and express the presence of God to the heart of the community by developing a building to meet the on-going needs and future needs of the Church. The project involves the replacement of the existing Meldrum Church building which is close to the end of its life expectancy.
The new Church will provide a building in which the existing work of the Church can continue in a comfortable and sustainable environment. The new building is expected to:
Following numerous discussions between the Client, Architects and other design team members we have jointly been able to achieve a functional and sustainable building with a strong architectural concept. The building is organised around a central garden of contemplation reminiscent of a cathedral cloister, this precedent is further enhanced by the repetition of bays and the expression of the structural glulam frame internally as so evident in Gothic architecture. Each bay incorporates a separate function which is accessed off the main vaulted circulation route. The main building volumes are located to the rear of the site with simple pitched roofed bays to the front which brings the building down to the domestic scale of its immediate environment. Coloured glass panels with also feature heavily within the building as a play on traditional stained glass, the building will also incorporate sentimental stained glass panels from the original church. The buildings main spaces will include, a church hall with overspill space, a café, meeting rooms, function/sports hall with associated changing and storage facilities.
The building structure is a combination of load bearing glulam portal frames, solid cross laminated timber panels (clt) and closed insulated timber panels. The cross laminated panels are also used to form the roof structure and provide racking for stability. Timber is the number one renewable mainstream construction material and can produce greener buildings with a lower carbon footprint. Under floor heating is provided to all areas except the plant rooms, with additional radiators in the church space. Heat recovery shall be used where possible to remove heat from the extracted air in order to pre-heat the incoming fresh air. All perimeter rooms shall be provided with natural ventilation where possible. The following areas will be provided with mechanical ventilation:
In addition we anticipate that photovoltaic (pv) panels shall be required on the south facing church roof. It is anticipated that enhanced construction details, u-values, air tightness and various passive measures shall be employed to achieve a modern energy efficient building.
.png){kind=spacer}
