- Conservation
Building Grand Junction
“There were buckets when it rained and changing a light bulb was a health and safety nightmare.”
That was Father Jonathan Wilkes, Priest-in-Charge at St Mary Magdalene’s between 2004 and 2006, describing the building before any of this began.
Building Grand Junction is a virtual exhibition telling the story of the conservation of St Mary Magdalene Church and the construction of the community wing alongside it. Presented through a timeline of events, it covers the project’s origins, its ambitious aspirations, and the design challenges faced along the way.
Visit the Exhibition Website
Curation: Cas Bradbeer, Heritage Volunteer
Photography: Cheryl Prax, Anthony Coleman, Ian Hessenberg, Torsten Schlicht, Martin Plocek, Philip Wolmuth, Anna Kunst, Zoe Savitz and Nicky Chakravorty
Meet the Architect, Biba Dow of Dow Jones Architects
Biba Dow designed the new community wing. In this film she talks about building onto a Grade I listed Victorian church.
Meet the Conservator, Oliver Caroe of Caroe Architects
Oliver Caroe led the conservation of the church itself. In this film he talks about the challenges of restoring it.
The work described in the exhibition is finished. The building it produced is open, and everything that happens here now – concerts, classes, weddings, the café, the heritage tours – happens because of it.