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(IN)Spire design project, London

The exhibition showcased the shortlisted entrants of the RIBA London’s Forgotten Spaces Competition which attracted 137 entrants out of which this research was awarded FIRST PRIZE. The Exhibition attracted over 30,000 visitors and International press coverage in a variety of media. The jury which comprised Paul Finch (Deputy Chairman Design Council/CABE), Mark Brearley (then Head of Design for London), Jeremy Tichen and Julia Barfield, commented that

“...this entry identified a series of true forgotten spaces and put forward a realistic yet imaginative solution for their use. Moreover this project has already demonstrated its viability with a pilot project in existence."

The Research project started with an analysis and survey of the Diocese of London’s built, social and economic fabric. This found that within the City of London’s 51 existing churches there were spaces that were being under-utilised, and becoming a financial and conservation concern to the Diocese. As part of the research Scott-Whitby proposed a new use for these forgotten spaces: as creative studio spaces available at low-rent within the spires of the City of London. This proposal was then tested with a working prototype within the tower of Nicholas Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth. The project started to change the Diocese of London’s view on the city’s church spires and has now to created a series of new studio’s which contribute both financially and socially to the rehabilitation of these Grade-I listed monuments within the City. We are now using new 3d scanning technology to offer millimetre-precise surveys of the towers, which will offer a new way of thinking about the monitoring and refurbishment of Grade-I listed spaces in the 21st Century.

The research has led to a number of lectures and conference contributions in the UK and Internationally.