Sunday School Stories, Union Chapel, Islington

Value - £1m | Client - Union Chapel Project

Renovation and refurbishment of a Grade II* Listed Sunday School building at Union Chapel.

The Union Chapel is well-known as an internationally loved, award-winning, stunning independent music venue within a Grade I and II* Listed building complex of the Victorian period. It is also a charity, engaging and supporting the local community, and a non-conformist Church with a strong commitment to social justice. Hosting over 200 events a year in the main chapel, the ancillary buildings are regularly used for private hire, theatre rehearsals, community activities, film hire, conferences, office space and more.

The Sunday School is a Grade II* Listed building, designed by James Cubitt and completed in 1877. The room is a rare surviving example of an Akron-style plan, with the main hall surrounded by a gallery to three sides supported by cast iron columns, containing open alcoves and booths.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) funded project aims to repair the hall and reopen the space to the community and wider audience, for which we are providing civil and structural engineering services. The scheme includes repairs to the interior and exterior of the building, new DDA compliant access, circulation, and services, refurbishment of the Sunday School, with new AVU, underfloor heating, mechanical, electrical, sound and lighting installations to transform the space into a versatile and multi-functional area serving the local community, visitors, and friends of the Union Chapel.