Images:- Peter Blundy
EXPERIENCE
University of Winchester
Winton Chape
The project was to renovate and extend
the University’s Victorian Chapel.
Originally built in 1880, and then
extended in 1927, the Chapel is used
for a number of different events and
purposes: services, group meetings,
concerts and as a place of quiet
contemplation.
In 2015 the University commissioned
Design Engine Architects to oversee
a complete restoration of its internal
56 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk
and external fabric. In addition, the
University asked for an extension to
the chapel, to include a small side
chapel and a social and meeting space.
The brief was to create a very special
project, to sit as a small ‘jewel’ in the
heart of the campus.
The interior of the original gothic
revival chapel has been returned to its
former glory with renovation work to
the walls and timber ceiling alongside
the introduction of new oak and stone
floors, heating and architectural
lighting. The university has chosen
locally sourced Purbeck limestone,
a material traditionally used for its
decorative quality in churches and
cathedrals across England, exploiting
the natural characteristics of the
embedded fossils within it.
A new contemporary altar has been
introduced, made from 7 horizontal