Architecture Portfolio

Chinnor Congregational Church is a thriving family church in the centre of Chinnor. JBKS undertook a feasibility study with the church in 2013. The project went through a number of feasibility options to determine the right course of action; looking at everything from knocking the existing building down and rebuilding to a simple remodel. The final feasibility proposals were in-between - retaining the existing chapel building as a new circulation space coupled with the construction of a new build worship space at the rear of the site to seat 100 and a new entrance and foyer space at the front. This included a new kitchen and toilets, an office for the pastor, a hall on the first floor and the opportunity for a week-day café in the old chapel.

Clare was directly involved with the design and management of this project, and attended all meetings alongside a director. She was responsible for the design of the summary document at the end of the feasibility study, and for preparing for the meetings and presentations. This project taught Clare the importance of getting the vision behind the project clear before writing the design brief and starting to design; the church started off wanting a new build to seat 250, before realising that this wasn’t right for the congregation. Although this added time to the feasibility study process, Clare was able to use her experience and expertise to help the client s develop their vision and produce a building design that met this.

Key Tasks:

• Being the main point of contact for the client in the office
• Preparing for, attending and leading meetings
• Developing the feasibility designs under a director
• Assisting the client in developing their vision and design brief
• Preparing and managing the design summary booklet as the feasibility outcome
• Liaising with the client over costs and phasing the proposed works