Page\Park Architects has sensitively refurbished and extended a post-war church designed by Gillespie Kidd & Coia near Glasgow.

Photos
Ross Campbell

Page\Park Architects’ £1.25m refurbishment of St Matthew’s Parish Church in Bishopbriggs includes a new interior, side extension, and provision for accessible facilities.

Completed in 1948, the Category C listed building by Gillespie Kidd & Coia was of modest design and construction, with much of the work undertaken voluntarily by members of the congregation. The Scottish firm designed over a dozen churches in Scotland, as well as housing, hospital and education buildings. One of the practice’s best-known works, the modernist, now-ruined St. Peter’s Seminary near Cardross was recently sold by the Catholic church and is expected to become a centre for the film industry under designs by Carmody Groarke.

At St Matthew’s Parish Church, salvaged roof timbers were incorporated into the structure, resulting in an unusually narrow plan and longstanding operational problems.

Resolution of this issue has been achieved with the creation of a side aisle, which also increases daylighting in the sanctuary via a new lantern window. The latter has also made the church more visible, giving it a greater civic presence.

Landscaping works have been completed in precast concrete, creating a new tiered seating area with planters and new entrance signage with inlaid gold text. An external terrace running along the south side of the building provides a gathering space that anticipates future public realm works to the town centre.

Ground-floor plan

Inside, damaged flooring has been replaced with a new ceramic tile that features a white strip highlighting the processional route to the altar. The material palette is intentionally restrained and elemental, with the warm tone of the timber giving relief to the new concrete forms.

The pre-cast altar furniture has also been designed by the architect, including the altar itself, lectern, presider’s chair, and font. The parish agreed to commission the ceramic artist James Rigler to design and construct a new tabernacle and sanctuary light in collaboration with the design team.

Constructed from slipcast Jesmonite and gold leaf, with a polished brass inner lining, the form and finish of the tabernacle are intended to capture the spirit of the original building.

“The utilitarian design of the existing building benefited our contemporary reworking, and we were able to create an extension that was confident and fresh, complementing the original building without requiring to shy away, or exist in deference,” says the architect.

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