Orpington Baptist Church undertook an extensive project, to rebuild and refurbish their kitchen to help it better support the long list of groups and activities hosted at the Church.

Calford Seaden, an architectural consultancy based in the local area, were brought in to oversee the project and deliver a space that gave Orpington Baptist the flexibility it needed, while remaining sensitive to the spiritual nature of the Church.

THE JOB

Lead architect Tim Jackson first needed to look at the feasibility of the project: to extend the building in a way that remained true to the character of the church, and facilitated the needs of its congregation. A Baptist leader himself, Tim understood those needs better than most.

“It’s a fairly large Church with a thriving congregation,” says Tim. “As most Baptist churches organise semi-regular lunches with all their members in attendance, they would need a kitchen that could make a lot of meals – and that’s without factoring in their weekly lunch club for the blind society, and a planned drop-in cafe.”

Once the initial space and shape of the extension had been outlined with the client, Tim contacted Steelplan Kitchens for further input on how the space should be laid out.

WORKING TOGETHER

Tim had previously worked with Steelplan Kitchens on a number of other church projects, and didn’t hesitate to bring Chris King and the team on board again.

“I’d always found Steelplan Kitchens very approachable, pragmatic and client focusing. From the very first client meeting, Chris hit the nail on the head, drawing out their key requirements to make sure the end result perfectly fit their needs.”

MORE THAN JUST A KITCHEN

Unlike similar spaces in community centres or other public buildings, a church kitchen has a uniquely spiritual character that not every contractor understands. “As a Baptist leader myself, I know that a church kitchen has a spiritual dimension. It has to have the right atmosphere, for one, and it needs to be inclusive – a space that anyone can use. Steelplan have always taken this into account and created a suitable solution.”

THE RESULT

Reverend Martyn Travers and his congregation at Orpington Baptist Church were delighted with the end result; a kitchen that could support their busy church timetable while maintaining a comfortable, accessible feel. It also allowed them to launch The Sanctuary Cafe.

“The key thing that our clients love about Steelplan kitchens,” explains Tim, “is that you get a robust kitchen fronted with bright, colourful doors – a perfect compromise between commercial and domestic.”

Steelplan Kitchens offer a free consultation and design service to help you design your Church’s perfect kitchen. To find out more, call us on 0844 809 9186.

In the meantime, take a look at some of our other Church case studies here:

Stockland Green Methodist Church
St Joseph’s Havant
St Nicholas Church Thames Ditton