The former Grade II Parish Church of St Mary’s, located in the heart of Lichfield’s market square, now serves as a vibrant community hub following our transformative repurposing of the space on behalf of Staffordshire County Council.
A church is reputed to have been on the present site since at least 1150, making it a location of significant historical importance although the current Victorian Gothic style building, remodelled for community use in the early 1980’s, had lost its sparkle and connection with the community and needed a bold interpretation plan for the space, investment to facilitate modernisation, and an economic plan for long-term financial viability.
Our project development team engaged with community stakeholders to frame the future user story and provided independent project governance to ensure the project aspirations were clear and fit for funding.
As project managers we guided the client through iterative design and delivery phases, from concept to completion, and provided robust cost planning and cost management of the capital budget which was critical to the financial success of the project.
In addition, as principal designer, under CDM 2015, our collaboration and effective leadership of health and safety considerations pre and post contract ensured the works, including aspects with interfaces to live environments, were completed without incident.
Critical to the financial success of the project was creating a new library and study space, along with a hospitality and retail offering that respected the historical context of the building. This was achieved by opening the Nave to house the library and retaining the altar, choir stalls and pews in what is now an amazing study area.
The first floor now incorporates a balcony which overlooks a flexible performance arts and exhibition space for a range of visiting collections and performance artists.
The Heritage Learning Scheme also provides an important space to improve educational out-reach and showcase an important collection, offering insights into 2000-years of Lichfield’s heritage.
| Procurement Route | Value | Services Provided |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional | £1.2m | Cost Planning, Cost Management, Principal Designer, Project Development, Project Management |
