St James Church
St James church is huge and dominates the surrounding streets. The brief from Great Yarmouth Borough Council was to create an easily accessible community services and resource centre within the interior and to retain as many of the original features as possible. The architects also wanted to allow users of the internal spaces to views the original church architecture from many vantage points and to appreciate the beauty of the stained glass windows. The building houses office accommodation for local community groups, an IT training facility, café, creche, clinics and a community room.
The intervention takes the form of an upturned ship with circulation between it and the outside walls on ground and upper floors. The circulation spaces are minimally heated while the insulated ‘ship’ walls and heat recovery systems contribute to the low running costs of the project. From outside, the church appears almost untouched. Inside, a new, flexible and welcoming collection of rooms and facilities have been created for the local community.
