Bethnal Green Methodist Church

The current site, in the Victoria Park Conservation Area, consists of a 1950s church, hall and manse in poor repair. The existing buildings are no longer able to successfully facilitate the activities of the Methodist Church in Tower Hamlets and the Zaccheus Project, a twinned charity which works with older people and carers, offering advice, support and activities to improve the quality of their lives and address gaps in local provision.

A new church, a new community hall; enlarged and improved facilities for the Zacchaeus Project, café, affordable workspace and other amenities for the local neighbourhood are proposed, built around a central community garden. To satisfy the client’s desire for a carbon-neutral scheme, mass-timber is used to significantly reduce embodied energy, and local sustainable energy production is proposed for its ongoing use. The ground floor colonnade and facades respond to the scale, rhythm and materiality of the 3-4 storey Victorian Terraces that typify the area.