Making a Difference: a new perspective – Eric Parry at St Martin-in-the-Fields
2 July, 6:30pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Trafalgar Square
London, WC2N 4JJ
 
  
The renewal project at St Martin-in-the-Fields,now nearing completion, is one of the most significant and complex redevelopments being undertaken in London.
Winner of the Georgian Group Architectural Awards 2007 for restoration of a Georgian Church, plans for St Martin’s are set against a rich backdrop of heritage, community and faith that is simultaneously sacred and secular. The site of St Martin-in-the-Fields is highly significant: a complex mix of buildings including the church, social care facilities, residential apartments and underground crypts and vaults. The architectural brief was to develop a master plan that would unify the whole site, resolve spatial difficulties and create a series of uplifting spaces that are flexible enough to accommodate a range of activities now and in the future.
In this talk, Eric Parry describes his response to the brief: a robust solution that connects each of the different elements of the site, creating and framing a space to nurture and sustain the community and a design that imparts a sense of openness and accessibility, enhancing the architectural qualities of the original building while at the same time emphasising the church’s continuing spiritual and social remit.
Eric Parry will show how architecture can be used to make a difference to the quality of people’s experience – in this case ranging from world-class musicians using the new purpose-built rehearsal room to those working for and being helped by the homeless charity The Connection, as well as day-to-day visitors to the church, the shop and restaurant or the re-configured churchyard which will provide a new space for contemplation and reflection right in the heart of London.
Eric Parry Architects was founded in 1983. The practice is based in London, with an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Eric Parry Architects is currently working on a number of highly prestigious commercial projects in the City and West End including 60 Threadneedle Street, 23 Savile Row and 50 New Bond Street. Most recently 5 Aldermanbury Square, a new high-rise office scheme in the City of London was completed in 2007. The practice is also responsible for several cultural projects involving highly sensitive historic settings including a significant new wing for the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath, and the new Cedars Hall for Wells Cathedral School in Somerset.
Previous completed projects include the home of the London Stock Exchange at 10 Paternoster Square in the City of London; the award-winning office building at 30 Finsbury Square; and a new library and music school for Bedford School. Other significant early projects include Foundress Court residential complex at Pembroke College, Cambridge University; luxury apartments Damai Suria in Kuala Lumpur; and the urban interventions at Southwark including the stone needle at London Bridge.
Eric Parry was elected Royal Academician in 2006. He was President of the Architectural Association in 2005-2007 and has been a council member since 1995. He has served as Chair of the RIBA Awards Group as well as being a member of the Kettles Yard Committee and the Arts Council of England Visual Arts and Architecture Panels in previous years.
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