Saint Barnabas Mission Hall
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The glazed entrance 'slot' with delicate perforated steel stair
David Hawley (website) Download Original
Refurbishment of 1890 church hall building comprising new kitchen, toilets and mezzanine and extensive repair and restoration of the building fabric and ground floor hall spaces
Saint Barnabas Dalston began meeting in April 2010 in a beautiful Charles Reilly designed church building in Dalston. The adjacent Mission Hall (which predates the church) was derelict and the aspiration was to bring the hall back to life for use by the church and the local community.
The external fabric of the building was repaired but the ancillary facilities were arranged in a maze of oddly-sized rooms, accessible only from one of the halls. A hidden storage loft, accessible only by trap door from above, was also found above the kitchen.
Sense was made of the space by carefully manipulating the existing fabric and layout to open a glazed 'slot' through the building, engaging the building with its neighbours and flooding light into a double height entrance space. The slot frames a delicate perforated staircase gently stepping up to a new open mezzanine level above.
The mezzanine, created by lowering the disused storage loft provides a new social space and together with the kitchen has a distinctly domestic, family feel, something the church felt strongly about.
Data
- Begun: Oct 2012
- Completed: Apr 2013
- Floor area: 146m2
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £78,500
- Funding: Donations by church members, friends and family
- Tender date: Mar 2012
- Procurement: JCT Minor Works
- Address: Saint Barnabas Mission Hall, St Barnabas Church, Shacklewell Row, Dalston, London, E8 2EA, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: David Cawston & Peter Jennings
- Client: Saint Barnabas Dalston
- Structural engineer: John Romer of Cullinan Studio
- Building Control Officer: Adrian Thomas Building Control Ltd
- M&E engineer: Andrew Lerpiniere of Arup
- Fire En: Dominic Way of BB7 Fire Safety Engineering
- Main contractor: D N Hall Builders
Suppliers
- Stair & Balustrade Manufacturer: Hollywood Design