Reconstruction of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church

Among the most remarkable architectural realizations in the London district of the City of Westminster over the past decade is the renovation of St. Martin-in-the-Fields church designed by architect Eric Parry. The church visually completes the northeastern corner of Trafalgar Square. It was built between 1721 and 1725 on the site of the original church according to a design by James Gibbs. The current form of the church has been expanded by a newly added terrace and the renovation of the underground vaults located beneath the main nave of the church, designed by architect John Nash in 1820.

In 2001, a national fundraising campaign was launched for the reconstruction of the church under the auspices of The National Lottery. The reconstruction, with a budget of £36 million, was taken on by the studio of architect Eric Parry. Parry's extensive experience in creating within historic environments was reflected in a sensitive design for the new complex along the northern side of the church. The exterior is significantly influenced by two cylindrical volumes with a common central axis, spaced 30 meters apart. The functional content of the entire renovation is located underground, where the architect created a hierarchy of new spaces assigned by St. Martin-in-the-Fields, which, in addition to being a place of worship, provides charitable assistance and operates a Chinese community center. Small bookstores, galleries, restaurants, and a chapel dedicated to Dick Shepherd (the priest who managed the church during World War I) also found their space within the complex.

The initial design of the entrance pavilion had a cubic form. However, through a mutual dialogue with the investor, the final shape of the entrance evolved into a form based on the intersection of two cylindrical bodies in the shape of a Venn diagram. The uniqueness of this piece lies in the domed roof with a plastically shaped skylight, whose 10-ton construction is supported only by a 4-meter high glass ring. This technical innovation was achieved in collaboration with the Swiss company Tuchschmid. The building is finished at ground level with a high granite plinth that directly connects to the street pavement. The entrance pavilion is equipped with a hydraulic lift around which a circular staircase wraps. The underground layout is dominated by a structurally independent multipurpose hall occupying the space of two floors. The hall also creates a dividing mass between the western and eastern parts of the complex. The surface of the hall is visually differentiated by wooden cladding and ribbon windows. The western wing contains a reception connected to a shop. The restaurant is located beneath the church in a space vaulted by ribbed vaults and is connected to the main entrance via a staircase. The eastern wing consists of a series of spaces around a central internal courtyard, which illuminates the spaces of the Chinese community center and chapel with natural light. The recessed atrium is externally defined by a massive circular ring of a sculptural character.

Changes to the church itself were manifested in the cleaning of the facades, the relocation of the organ, and the replacement of the eastern portal window. This artwork was created by Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary. She used an illusionistically rendered motif of a cross in a monochromatic stained glass window, which replaced the original destroyed window. Artworks by a young generation of visual artists are to be installed in other spaces of the church and the St. Martin-in-the-Fields community center in the near future.