Christian Community Temple Lodge

The Christian Community has owned the listed grade II property of Temple Lodge since 1962. The original house, built in 1850, is a bed & breakfast club. The artist, Sir Frank Willliam Brangwyn (1867-1956), extended the building and his studio houses a vegetarian restaurant and until recently the Chapel. The complex brief required a new purpose designed Chapel with ancillary spaces, an additional ensuite bedroom to the B&B club and refurbishment of the restaurant. Due to the combination of extremely tight site constraints and the geometry of the new chapel, a CLT (cross laminate timber) structure has been used. The building is overclad in cork insulation with waterproof render and a standing seam zinc roof covering.

Internally, the exposed CLT in the new 60 seat Chapel is colour washed, the floor polished concrete and the altar walls Armourcoat polished plaster. The space is lit entirely from above and is modulated by two rows of 7 columns set out on the arcs of curves with a radius of 66m.