St Margaret’s Church & Thornbury Centre

The Aim

The previous Church of St Margaret de Antioch was built in the early 20th century and served it congregation until 1991 when cracks were spotted in the chancel arch. Within a week the building had been declared unsafe and it was subsequently confirmed this was due to subsidence leaving no alternative but demolition. The PCC needed a new church to house the congregation but also had a bigger vision to create a multi-faith centre where the whole community could come together.

Recognising their vision would not be a simple rebuilding of their previous church, the PCC held a design competition to seek innovative designs for this new building. AJA took part in the competition and won the commission to develop our designs with the PCC for the new building because of our wide experience in Community based projects and hands on approach.

Project Design

We designed the new multi-cultural church and community centre to include a worship space for 250 people, a community cafe, crèche, library, meeting rooms, offices and multi-purpose sports hall. We responded to the principal need to welcome visitors by creating a subtle outdoor/indoor transition, from Leeds Old Road the visitor is brought onto a stone paved terrace area and from there into the fully glazed entrance. This leads directly into ‘The Street’, an impressive 12 metre high atrium space with natural stone floor paving. This design feature enables the building to be naturally lit and ventilated, helping users to easily navigate themselves around the building.

Project Delivery

The project team worked closely with the client to achieve a welcoming, user-friendly centre that is used by a variety of different religious groups from the surrounding area. The development received a significant contribution to its costs from the Millennium Commission. Bradford City Council and Bradford Diocese also put in funds to create this valuable community facility.
The centre was commended in the RIBA Yorkshire White Rose Awards, when Richard Giles wrote,

Altogether a powerful building with an inspired, beautifully executed design touch. Which is an invaluable asset both architecturally and socially - to this impoverished area of Bradford. It is likely to remain for many years the most significant building for miles around.