It’s a great thing to see a new church being built in 21st century Britain. Particularly a decent sized one for several hundred people, in the beautiful grounds of a large Victorian gothic mansion which is celebrating its 150th birthday.
Zollikon is delighted and privileged to assist with the design, obtaining planning permission and build of this fantastic new worship, community and conference space for a thriving, exciting church.
Though in the early stages of involvement, there are already some fantastic, innovative ideas around the architecture and uses currently being researched and modelled, including one that would be a genuinely exciting UK first. The project’s previous scoping architects did excellent work to take several masterplans though 2 pre-application cycles with the Local Planning Authority, with Zollikon arriving to oversee the second pre-app LPA meeting and lead the project into its next phases.
As a Christian, it has been a real joy to join the current church in Sunday morning worship and to work with and chat through the week, to really try and understand the church’s vision and values. Highlights? The thumping dance music that crescendos as the service is about to begin, followed by the thumping sermon exhorting us to step out and make a difference, the mid-service coffee break, the passionate conversations I have had with members about their visions for the new church building, the servant hearts I’ve met who work hard to make the existing facilities work for the church and community, climbing up the narrow, winding steps of the gothic tower to survey the surrounding views of town and country… lots of highlights!
From really knowing and understanding the existing church community, the wider communities (including residential, educational and business), current stakeholders and tenants, the huge mansion, outbuildings and grounds – and holding these factors within the contexts of current technologies, budgets, multiple visions and more – Zollikon is synthesising the historic, the current and the sustainable future. And THAT, is indeed a privilege.
More to follow…