Design Engine Architects

University of Winchester Winton Chapel

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy

UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER WINTON CHAPEL

Design Engine Architects

ARCHITECTS
Design Engine

MANUFACTURERS
Allgood, Planet Partitioning, Blackwell & Moody, Luke Hughes & Co

LIGHTING CONSULTANT
Chris Reading & Associates

QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Evolution 5

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Paul Tanner Associates

M&E CONSULTANT
Robert Cartwright Design

CLIENT
University of Winchester

FORM OF CONTRACT
Traditional

AWARDS
RIBA South 2017 Awards shortlist

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT
Robert Cartwright Design

MAIN CONTRACTOR
R.V. Dart

FUNDING
Private

PHOTOGRAPHS
Peter Blundy

TOTAL COST
£800,000

GROSS INTERNAL FLOOR AREA
210 m2

AREA
210 m²

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Hampshire, United Kingdom

CATEGORY
Chapel

Text description provided by architect.

The project was to renovate and extend the University’s Victorian Chapel. Originally built in 1880, and then extended in 1927, the Chapel is used for a number of different events and purposes: services, group meetings, concerts and as a place of quiet contemplation.

In 2015 the University commissioned Design Engine Architects to oversee a complete restoration of its internal and external fabric. In addition, the University asked for an extension to the chapel, to include a small side chapel and a social and meeting space. The brief was to create a very special project, to sit as a small ‘jewel’ in the heart of the campus.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy

The interior of the original gothic revival chapel has been returned to its former glory with renovation work to the walls and timber ceiling alongside the introduction of new oak and stone floors, heating and architectural lighting.

The university has chosen locally sourced Purbeck limestone, a material traditionally used for its decorative quality in churches and cathedrals across England, exploiting the natural characteristics of the embedded fossils within it.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy

A new contemporary altar has been introduced, made from 7 horizontal sections of Purbeck stone and a new font has also been commissioned greeting visitors on entering from the South door.

Designed to reflect light within the interior spaces, the font basin, made from highly polished stainless steel, is a section of a sphere, a reference to “light of the world”.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
© Peter Blundy

The basin is supported on a polished Purbeck limestone cylindrical plinth.

A number of bespoke oak furniture pieces were commissioned from and designed in collaboration with Luke Hughes, most notably the oak pews, lecturn, credenza storage units, bookcases and tables.

The obvious location for the extension was to the north of the main Chapel; despite the site constraints, the resulting design is an empathetic response to the gothic revival building where its connection, form and materiality seem both intuitive and exciting.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Details
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Details

The design consists of a pitched roof structure that mirrors that of the existing building and allows light to penetrate into the perimeter exterior spaces.

The ridge over-sails the existing building eaves line creating a clerestory window that provides both light and ventilation at high level.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Floor Plan
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Site Plan

The plan form creates a twist in the pitched roof bringing an intriguing geometric dynamic to the new addition.

The form lent itself to a timber frame structure – a series of primary wall and roof trusses, each one different to create the changing form.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Courtesy of Design Engine Architects
University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Perspective Facade Section

Externally, the form is clad with perforated aluminium panels, anodized to give a highly reflective ‘gold’ finish, giving a dramatic textural surface to the building that is continuous over both roof and wall, allowing the building to be interpreted at different distances and scales.

Design Engine developed a pattern referential to the existing architecture and an interpretation appropriate for the 21st century.

University of Winchester Winton Chapel
Section

Design Engine Architects
T +44 20 31768215
Design Engine Architects
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