Friends Meeting House

Project Type:

Heritage, Extension

Location:

Sussex

Project Description

The Friends Meeting House in Lewes dates from 1774 and is one of the principal Quaker meetings in the country. It sits in a Conservation Area, a heritage asset in itself and is Grade II listed. Various different grants were awarded to enable the project to commence.

The building had been poorly maintained for some years and subject to various unsympathetic 20th century alterations causing damaging water ingress from sub-standard construction resulting in internal floor changes and noise issues from the residents flat. Externally, stepped entrances created serious accessibility barriers. Quakers are committed to becoming an inclusive low carbon community and was reflected in the brief, requiring a flexible building to ensure future financial stability

Meeting room with wooden wainscotting, white walls, 2 large windows and a mezzanine seating gallery.

Rectangular room with single galley kitchen to the left, vinyl flooring, a step leading to a wooden door.

Room with match stick flooring, timber book cases to the right and back wall of the room.

View of serving hatches designed to be level with the kitchen worktop next to them.

View of the main extension entrance from inside the corridor.

Narrow corridor with timber door at the end and two doors on the right wall.

High level window on wall with rooflight in pitched roof directly above it giving natural light to the main meeting hall.

Bright, modern corridor with blue carpet, white walls, and skylights leading to glass doors at the end.

Brick friends meeting house dated 1734 with a white door and symmetrical windows, surrounded by green shrubs and a small tree.

An empty corridor with wooden doors on the left side, a blue carpet, and skylights in the ceiling.

A round, white lamp with a black rim attached to a wooden wall with vertical planks, next to a glass window reflecting trees.

Aerial view of a residential neighbourhood with rows of houses, parked cars, and a church with a cemetery.

Exterior view of a modern extension with wooden cladding, black framed glass door, and a water butt next to the wall on a brick paved patio.

The building development preserves the asset in the conservation area setting while enhancing its visibility by creating a new gateway in the listed boundary wall. The flat roof rear extensions were rebuilt to provide a large gathering foyer space with a breathable drylining system. The modern entrance elevation reflects Quaker values and unifies the internal layout, making the building feel much larger. The new interior floor space is filled with natural daylight, leading to the Georgian Meeting room, new WC's, and consulting room. The building now has four separately rentable rooms, and damp has been dealt with. The new energy-efficient heating system is a hybrid of heat pumps and gas, while the residents' flat has been completely retrofitted and fitted with thick insulation, lime plastering, secondary glazing, and an air source heat pump.

For this project we have completed the RIBA Stages 1-5.

Stage 1 - Preparation & Brief

Stage 2 - Concept Design

Stage 3 - Spatial Coordination

Stage 4 - Technical Design

Stage 5 - Manufacturing and Constructing