After twenty-five years working across nearly every kind of building, I’ve found myself drawn increasingly to one particular kind of project: renewing churches for the communities that use them. It’s work I’ve come to feel genuinely passionate about, and finishing Cross Life Church in Asquith earlier this year is a large part of why.
That project asked for a lot at once. The brief meant rejuvenating an existing church building — addressing accessibility so the space could properly welcome everyone in the congregation, and reworking the foyer into something that felt genuinely inviting rather than simply functional. Curved ceilings carry through that entry space now, and it’s become the place the whole church community naturally gathers around before and after service. Seeing that happen in practice, watching a building actually change how a congregation moves through and uses its own home, is what’s stayed with me since.
Churches are a different kind of client to work with, and that’s part of what makes the work compelling. A parish council, clergy and congregation each bring a different view of what the building needs to become, and a good renewal project has to hold all of that together — heritage considerations, practical shortcomings that have built up over years, and a genuine desire from the community to feel more welcome in their own space. It takes more listening than a typical residential or commercial brief, and more patience through the decision-making process, but the result is a building that a community has actually shaped for itself.
Going forward, church renewal is where I want to put a significant part of my attention — alongside the bespoke homes and boutique commercial work that has always sat alongside it. If you’re part of a church community thinking about what your own building could become, I’d genuinely like to hear from you.
A short video series following the Cross Life project from design through to opening is available on the site, including feedback from the congregation on using the finished space.