St Martin in the Fields
St Martin in the Fields is a Grade 1 listed church. Renovation of it and associated buildings included work on the crypt and new basement, refurbishing and enlarging the existing café, renovating the gallery, and improving environmental conditions for both.
Facilities include a large new foyer, parish hall, chapel, music rehearsal rooms and community centre. Care facilities for the homeless are provided in an adjoining building, the North Range, which has been refurbished.
The services strategy involved mechanical ventilation with night-time cooling. The cooling strategy includes the use of a 200m deep borehole that draws water from the North Kent downs to cool the building.
A light touch was employed on the grade one listed church to preserve the historic fabric. A ventilation purging system located in the roof void together with improved natural ventilation greatly reduces internal temperatures in summer. The glazing in the church was replaced and improved, increasing air tightness and offering considerable higher daylight levels.
A large lightwell brings natural light deep into the new basement and allows many spaces a connection to outside and good quality daylighting. The cloisters act as a thermal buffer between outside, the lightwell and the permanently occupied spaces to reduce heat losses and gains.
The new ventilation system for the crypt uses un-insulated underground ducts in contact with the earth, and with night time pre-cooling and preheating makes maximum use of the thermal mass of the brick vaults. Borehole water provides additional cooling with the result that the previously overheated crypt is cool throughout the summer time.
Maximum use was made of natural ventilation and daylight in the North Range terrace, using new, large opening windows on the north elevation and existing ones on the south to encourage cross ventilation. Blinds, exposed mass, efficient lights and lighting controls, and natural ventilation combine to minimise the need for any active cooling during summer.
St Martin in the Fields is one project in our continuing story of nearly 50 years of delivering mixed use cultural buildings.
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