Following a devastating fire in 2016 the Diocese of Bristol held an architectural competition to explore uses for St Michael on the Mount Without.

We proposed a new covered garden to bring the church back to life and celebrate its existing historic features. This included removing the railings to the perimeter of the church to allow the building to interact with its surrounding spaces.

We suggested that to ensure that the new wintergarden would be economically sustainable it would need to be supported by associated facilities. These could have included a juice / coffee bar with a shop in the wintergarden, a cafe bar to the crypt, boutique Airbnb accommodation above the north aisle and a pop-up farmers markets along the main thoroughfares outside. The café supported by its own kitchen garden would have had outdoor seating and a natural play area for children in the re-landscaped park outside. All these facilities would both attract and bring together the diverse communities that live, work and pass through the area.

Although we did not win, half a dozen practices presented ideas and it was a really fun project to look at. The church itself was eventually sold and the present owner commissioned Quentin Alder Architect to undertake the refurbishment design. We think it has turned out well!