religious
Stewart Dodd, 2020
30-32 Bradmore Park Rd, London W6 0DT, W6 0DT
This new Quaker Meeting House is designed to be highly sustainable. It embodies the Quaker values of simplicity and equality, promoting a sense of calm.
Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith
190, 391, 267, 27
There is some parking available and it is free on single yellow lines at our designated visitor times but spaces are limited. There are however two disabled parking spaces outside as well.
This award winning new meeting house was completed in 2020, but no sooner did it open than it had to shut down due to the pandemic. However, the building is now open and is a much loved venue for both worshipful gatherings and community hirings and regularly hosts Open House days for our Ukrainian refugees and all world asylum seekers.
It is hoped that the building itself reflects many of the Quaker values by adhering to simplicity, using all natural, ethically sourced, sustainable and environmentally friendly materials.
The building is designed to welcome the community to a peaceful, calming, light-filled building. The Quakers are a non-hierarchical organisation who have fought for human rights, free speech and equality for all for almost 400 years, and this is reflected in the central hall, a circular meeting room whose windows look out on both sky and gardens of assorted seasonal wildflowers.
Triple-glazed windows and double glazed doors,
not only facilitate the certified sustainable environmental ventilation system, but also enable the silence of worship.
Quaker testimony to sustainability was a priority when architect Steward Dodd was chosen out of a field of 126 other candidates, as he had such strong environmental credentials. Consequently, the meeting house is Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) certified (‘Passivhaus’ standards of energy efficiency).
The wood used throughout- larch, oak and birch - is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified, and all carpentry demonstrates Shaker-like craftsmanship. The brick stock blends seamlessly with nearby houses, while the latticing and patterning manifest the beauty of that material. In recognition of the excellence of our design and outstanding environmental building standards, The Hammersmith Society awarded us its 2021 Environmental Award.
This building is on one floor and is fully accessible for wheelchairs and buggies.
The building will be open to visitors for the City Open House Festival as a Drop-In, no need to book during the hours of Saturday September the 9th from 10am til 2pm and on Sunday the 10th from 1pm til 4pm.
Stewart Dodd is CEO at River Cottage, Axeminster, Dorset and Programme Head of the AA Visiting School, Chengdu, China.
