post by Katerina Alexiou

In the last few months we have been in contact with the Baroness Warsi Foundation to explore synergies between our projects and the potential to share and disseminate learning.
 
The Baroness Warsi Foundation’s ‘Modern Places of Worship’ project, explores the interplay between architecture, faith and identity from both an historic and a modern perspective.  The Foundation is hosting a series of ten UK-wide debates, and aims to publish a report and launch an architectural design competition.
 
Drawing on our common interest on exploring the relationship between places of worship and local communities we decided to partner on a debate on “Shared spaces: the modern place of worship”. The debate is focussed on exploring the potential for places of worship to be shared, by different faith groups, by the wider community, and for mixed uses. It is held on the 25th of November, 3:00-5:00 at Liverpool School of Architecture.
 
The connection between people and their place of worship, and between a place of worship and the wider community around it, is layered with complex connotations, interpretations and feelings. Places of worship are fundamental to faith communities, providing a physical space to practice their faith and to come together. Bricks and mortar take on spiritual and faith values. For others, a place of worship may feel out of their reach or disconnected from their local community. What happens when those places of worship become shared spaces?

• Is the form, feeling and function of a building defined by the particular faith practiced there?
• How do different faith groups perceive other places of worship and can different faiths come together in shared buildings?
• Can a faith building accommodate local community activities and services while maintaining its integrity and function as a place of worship?

 
This free debate will consider these questions starting with a series of provocations from a panel of speakers that bring a diverse range of experience and insights into the topic:

• Dr. Andrew Crompton, Head of the School of Architecture, University of Liverpool
• Daniel Leon & Matthew Lloyd, two of the architects behind the tri-faith prayer space, the Friday, Saturday, Sunday project
• The Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Revd Malcolm McMahon OP
• Sophia de Sousa, Empowering Design Practices project research team & Chief Executive, The Glass-House Community Led Design.

 
The debate will be chaired by Lord Alton of Liverpool.
 
The event is open to anyone interested in exploring the future of places of worship and their place in our communities.
 
Click here to register

Post by Ruchit Purohit

I recently attended the presentation of  the initial findings of an impressive research initiative led by Rebecca Burrows of Purcell UK  (in collaboration with Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund).

The  research was focussed on issues faced by a certain type of churches: Major Parish Churches. A first time when research on a particular type of Church has been conducted. The venue was the beautiful Christ Church, Spitalfields which is a success story in itself with its recent changes (especially the multi-purpose space and cafe in the crypt).

The figures presented from the research were quite revealing. You can see some of them in the image below.

The findings related to finance, sustainability and heritage were quite interesting and resonate with what  we have been learning from our own research with the EDP team. I particularly liked the fact there is a major push to open up the churches for wider community use, have shared uses, including business planning for sustainability, and  to look at the Church beyond the physical elements. This also connects to the upcoming National Churches Trust conference which is based on Heritage and aptly titled "more than bricks and stones"!

I gathered that the methodology of the research was mainly quantitative. The churches responded to an online survey and then some of the churches selected for more in-depth study  were followed by a phone interview.  This I found a bit concerning as a lot of  qualitative data would have (must have) been lost in process. As Rebecca mentioned in jest “the telephone interviews ended up being counselling sessions”. These interviews might have a lot of unexplored rich data.

Some of the notable concerns raised from the findings and followed in the discussion were 1) How do we know what the wider community wants from these churches and 2) how do we connect with the youth given that the volunteers are mainly retired people?

Somebody from the audience said that if 95% of the public (according to  data from the research) have no clue about how churches are funded, we also need to understand that "this population has no idea of what they want" from the churches. This led to a discussion on perception of religious spaces by the wider community and how  these spaces are used. Adam Tyson from his experience at the Heritage Lottery Fund commented "there is no one solution, there are a variety of solutions"!

The discussion was very relevant in today's context as connecting with and understanding what the needs of the non-congregation community are  is something to look into detail and requires a wider nationwide research. Something which the EDP is researching in relation to the churches it is working with.

From left to right: Rebecca Burrows (Purcell UK), Adam Tyson (HLF), Diana Evans (Historic England).

Diana Evans of the Historic England answered queries from the audience and discussed how this kind of research can be scaled up.

A neighbouring churchwarden (Shoreditch) raised a valid point from his 35 years’ experience on how incumbents (churchwardens and managers) have no idea how to maintain these spaces. To this the Church of England person commented – "you don’t have to take all the burden, we are here to help".

I could instantly relate the churchwarden’s learning and observation to the data which we are gathering in EDP  i.e. the need for capacity-building, skills and knowledge transfer, and in general empowering these teams to  use and run their places of worship in a sustainable manner.

It is a pleasure to attend such conferences and events and to know that the discourse on places of worship is moving towards a holistic understanding of heritage! 


The full report and findings of the research can be found on this link https://historicengland.org.uk/research/current-research/threats/heritage-in-changing-society/major-parish-churches/

They have also made a film on the churches and the research findings:
Short film (2 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDc8HdFnhhE&feature=youtu.be
Full length film (15 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjHZW78ub78&feature=youtu.be

post by Sophia de Sousa, The Glass-House Community Led Design

Sometimes, when a community-based organisation is looking after a building, the challenges of the everyday can be overwhelming. This is particularly true when the building must cater to a variety of different needs and users and when it is in need of refurbishment. When the heritage of the building is significant as well, this adds another layer of complexity. For those looking after historic places of worship, all of these considerations must be managed, while respecting the needs and practices of their faith community.

Last month, as part of the Empowering Design Practices (EDP) research project, we invited three community-based groups to take part in our Design Training course, to help them build skills and confidence in design, and to do some practical work exploring how design could help them make the most of the specific buildings they manage.

The groups who took part look after buildings that are home to both faith-based and community activities and services. These groups, the United Reformed Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, St. Mary’s Church, Bow in east London, and the ISRAAC Somali Community and Cultural Association in Sheffield, are all at a moment where they are looking at the potential of their building, and how it can support their vision for the future.
At the Glass-House, we have seen that exploring the design of a building, both in its present form and in imagining its future, can be a powerful tool for looking past those everyday challenges and unlocking its potential as a place that helps people thrive. The process of rediscovering what the building has to offer can also be hugely empowering for the people involved.

Within the EDP research team, we were keen to explore whether getting back to the basics of how buildings work and the design of their buildings could help groups looking after historic places of worship to think differently about them. To do this, we used our Glass-House Buildings by Design training programme, with the support of our long-time Enabler and EDP consultant, Leo Care, who hosted us at the University of Sheffield Arts Tower.

Learning from and through design
The training took the groups through an intensive hands-on series of steps, which included an introduction to design principles and processes, mapping, visioning and model-making. The training also included site visits to three local buildings that have been transformed, which were hosted by the groups that had led the refurbishment process and who now manage those buildings.

The design training offered an important space for our groups to look at their buildings through a new lens. Meeting other groups and projects faced with similar issues and challenges, and learning about some of the solutions they had found, was both encouraging and inspiring. The groups also looked at completed refurbishments with a critical eye, considering the aspects they found more or less relevant and applicable to their own buildings and communities.

Making models of their own buildings also revealed a great deal. Our groups started to look at their buildings as a living thing. They looked at how the spaces fit together, at the different qualities of the various parts of the buildings. They considered our journey through buildings and how design can shape our experience of a place.

We tested various ideas for how they could use design to help transform their buildings. The groups found that small changes could potentially make a big difference to how a space is used, and how people relate to it. Working with the models helped the groups take a more holistic look at their buildings, and clearer visions for the future began to emerge.

At the end of the two intensive days, the groups felt buoyed by the qualities of their buildings and the potential that they could now see in them. One participant admitted that she had felt anxious and a bit reluctant to build a scale model of her church, but that doing it had helped her understand the building differently, and in a strange way, to fall back in love with it.

We look forward to seeing how these groups further develop their ideas and how design can help empower them to enhance their buildings.

Reposted from the Glass-House blog (13 October 2016)