This is a gem of a project
Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax
Evans Vettori for Square Chapel Arts Centre
Contract value: £4.7m
GIA: 1,927m²
Cost per m²: £2,462
This is a gem of a project, neatly connected to the adjoining grade I listed Piece Hall. The Square Chapel is a red brick grade II* listed chapel that was converted in the late 1980s into a thriving, but cramped, community arts centre. Now it has new facilities, knitted together by a bold triangular ‘prism’ which reconciles the various geometries and levels. The foyer, conceived as a woodland glade, uses steel branched columns to replace trees previously there.
This is an uncompromisingly modern building that is immensely satisfying. Square Chapel is closely linked to its community and the open nature of the centre reflects the organisation’s ethos that the arts should be accessible to all.
See other winners in the RIBA Regional Awards – Yorkshire