St. Pancras Church Garden | Studio Weave

Studio Weave has transformed the site of a burnt-down church in the heart of London into a unique garden filled with fantastical creatures. St. Pancras Church Garden opens up a space for public use that has remained hidden away from view for over almost 350 years. Dating from the 11th century, St. Pancras Church once stood on the site but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and never re-built; today only the foundations remain. Now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, it was important for Studio Weave to explore the narrative of this long-forgotten space in order to create something that is an extension of its heritage. Maria Smith, architect and director at Studio Weave, explains how an unusual design approach was required for such an extraordinary place: "We imagined that the lost church, left alone for so long, had been allowed to grow new shoots and re-emerge as an untrimmed and happily rambling pew- like species." Arranged in an irregular herringbone pattern, stone paving and carved wood weave around diamond-shaped plant beds and existing mature trees, with the wood elements rising to become seats. Each of the eight unique designs depicts patterns and animals that take their cue from the carvings of surviving Romanesque churches, with a contemporary twist. 2   Crucial to the realisation of this project was the creative input from the Historic Carving department at City & Guilds Art School in south London, which was commissioned to handcraft the furniture from Oak. Alan Lamb, Head of Historic Carving at City & Guilds, said: "Studio Weave provided an imaginative framework that allowed the students a large measure of creative freedom in the carved work on the benches. This created a rare and fertile collaboration that allowed individual young craftspeople to harness their imaginations to Studio Weave’s delightful and well-targeted design." The playful and sensitive qualities of the design have allowed the garden to capture the sense of stumbling across a hidden treasure in the middle of the City. Situated just minutes from the Bank of England, the curiously quiet and protected pocket is bounded on three sides by tall buildings and accessible only from Pancras Lane. The use of rich detail and soft materials endow St Pancras Church Garden with the feeling of an interior space to gaze out from, rather than an exposed exterior. The project forms part of the Environmental Enhancement Works coordinated by the Street Scene Team at the City of London Corporation. Assistant Director Victor Callister said: "Studio Weave's competition winning design has proved to be the most amazing choice for the rehabilitation of this long-neglected corner of the City that has just come in to the City of London's care and stewardship. It brings together a contemporary expression of the English Woodland in its careful choice of planting and retention of mature trees, with reference to the remains of the Saxon Church that lie just below the surface. This, the irrepressible history of the Monument appears to burst through the earth in the witty display of hand-carved pews that provide the focal point and function of the new public space. We thought that the design on paper was a bit bonkers, and I am pleased to say we were quite correct."