Holyrood Abbey Church

The new building replaces the church’s old hall, which was an uninviting space that discouraged community access. The existing late-Victorian church itself is focused on a rose window over the pulpit with its simple inscription ‘God is Love’.

The new building uses a window to engage with both the landscape and the community. The geometry of the church’s aisles extends into the new hall through its west wall, on either side of the pulpit. This is continued by skylights which fill the deep plan space with daylight, and govern the line for two moveable walls, converting the large hall into individual rooms.

The view of sunlight and sky through the rooflight is part of a general north-south engagement, most apparent once you step through from the main church. To the left is a new entrance leading from an urban square, with a servery providing hospitality. Overlooking the main hall is the vestry and upper hall. To the south, a huge window frames the view to Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park, next to whose Abbey this church and congregation was first established before moving to its current site.