The UK Church Architecture Awards honour excellence and creativity in church architecture. The Awards are run by the EASA and the National Churches Trust.
Awards
- Awards 2023
We had a fantastic Awards Ceremony at our AGM on 2nd November, held at St Mellitus College in London. This is a joint collaboration between EASA and National Churches Trust. We had nine shortlisted entries over three awards, and the standard was really high across the board.
The winners are as follows:
The King of Prussia Gold Medal
The King of Prussia Gold Medal is for innovative, high quality church conservation or repair work.
Winner: Saltaire United Reformed Church
Storm Dennis in February 2020 caused the partial collapse of the church ceiling. Arctic Associates were requested to oversee the repair, removal of the damaged ceiling plaster and reinstatement of the plasterwork. The Grade I building is located in a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Presidents’ Award
The Presidents’ Award is given for the best example of a new church building or for extensions to churches.
Winner: St John’s, Waterloo
Eric Parry Architects has completed the £5.5 million restoration of the Grade II* listed church in London. The careful renovation has revealed key elements of the historic interior of the church to create and safeguard a high-quality space for worship, arts and community events.
Highly Commended: St Hilda’s Church and Kirkleatham Parish Centre, Redcar
A new build community church and parish centre, constructed on a limited budget in a far from affluent area by Chance DeSilva.
Young Architect or Surveyor of the Year
The award is available to an architect who has been responsible for a shortlisted design for the King of Prussia Gold Medal or the Presidents’ Award.
Winner: Walthamstow St Mary the Virgin.
Alex Spicer of Matthew Lloyd Architects for Walthamstow St Mary the Virgin.
About the Awards
The Church Architecture Awards are run by the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association and the National Churches Trust.
The Presidents’ Award
First awarded in 1999, it is named after three presidents: The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York as Joint Presidents of the National Churches Trust, and the EASA President. The award is given for the best example of new design in re-ordering, alterations, extensions or new buildings which are specifically for liturgical use.
Award nominations are considered by the Association in conjunction with the National Churches Trust (formerly the ICBS) and awarded at the EASA Annual General Meeting. The award is given to the designer and the ICBS Chalice and Paten are lent to the winning parish to be held by them for the next year. The winning church or chapel will receive a £500 prize.
The King of Prussia Gold Medal
An award for the scheme of innovative, high quality church conservation or repair that overcomes the greatest aesthetic or technical challenge.
The award was established in 1844 by Christophe Karl Pfeuffer. He was a medallist and coin engraver who in 1840 received an appointment at the Berlin Mint. In 1845 he was promoted to the rank of first medallist to the Mint and was described as a person who was well endowed by nature, who modelled quickly and carefully, and took good likeness, but was perhaps too hasty and prolific. His medal of the Third Century of the Reformation at Berlin in 1839 is considered one of his most successful productions.
The Association is fortunate that our Patron Prince Nicholas von Preussen is a direct descendant of the King of Prussia for whom the medal was made. Prince Nicholas often tells the story of how it was presented to the ICBS (Incorporated Church Building Society) who did not know who to award it to, so it lay in an office drawer for many years until found in the 1960s. Today it is awarded annually.
The Gold Medal was the gift of King Freidrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1857 who was highly impressed with British Victorian church architecture. The architects responsible for the winning project will receive the prestigious King of Prussia Gold Medal.
The Young Architect or Surveyor of the Year
Introduced in 2016, the ‘Young Architect or Surveyor of the Year’ award is available to an architect under 40 who has been responsible for a shortlisted design of either a scheme for The King of Prussia Gold Medal or The Presidents’ Award.