Breathing New Life into a Heritage Chapel: Circular Design in St Ives

Studio Skein is working with St Ives Community Land Trust to sensitively transform the Grade II listed St Peter’s Street Bible Christian Chapel into 8 to 11 affordable maker spaces for local artists and craftspeople.

Using circular design principles, the project focuses on minimal intervention, reuse of existing materials and enhancing community access, while preserving the building’s historic character. The result will support local livelihoods, culturally enrich the town and extend the lifespan of an important heritage asset.

St Ives faces well-documented challenges: high housing costs, seasonal employment and limited affordable workspace for residents. The Community Land Trust sought to address the needs of local makers by repurposing a centrally located but underused chapel built in 1824. The building suffers from damp, disrepair and outdated interventions such as suspended ceilings and partial dry lining but retains significant heritage value. The context made it an ideal candidate for a circular, minimal-intervention redevelopment that could bring the building back into daily use.

Key objectives:

• Create affordable, flexible maker spaces for local creatives
• Preserve the chapel’s historic character and cultural value
• Apply circular design by minimising waste and reusing on-site materials
• Ensure accessibility, including improved access between levels and to facilities
• Enable the space to function as an occasional community venue
• Provide a future-proofed environment with adaptable lighting and ventilation

The Challenge

Studio Skein face a combination of practical and heritage-specific challenges:

• Working within a Grade II listed structure with damp, water ingress and ageing materials
• Storage and logistics for reclaimed materials
• No external space or parking, complicating access
• Balancing minimal intervention with modern needs (e.g. accessibility)
• Ensuring flexibility for a wide range of maker activities
• Maintaining community support and engaging future tenants in the process

The Solution

The design strategy centres on minimal intervention, preserving what works while carefully removing and reusing what does not.

Key Circular Actions:

• Reusing timber from 1990s partitions and raised floors
• Retaining and adapting existing lighting
• Using natural materials for repairs and insulation
• Salvaging historic features and avoiding unnecessary removal
• Reimagining the space using on-site materials

Design Solutions

• Introducing movable, low-level partitions to maintain the sense of volume in the main hall
• Locating ‘messier’ maker spaces in the adjacent schoolroom
• Removing a section of wall to create access between levels and to the toilets
• Designing adaptable mechanical and electrical services so the space can evolve with changing users
• Engaging artists and volunteers early to help shape the design and future use

Key Benefits:

• Environmental: Significant reduction in waste and carbon through re-use
• Cultural: Protects and revitalises a historic chapel while maintaining community identity
• Social: Provides affordable workspace for local creatives, supporting local economies and reducing social isolation
• Economic: Extends building lifespan; flexible design reduces long-term adaptation costs; reusing materials reduces procurement costs
• Process-based: Strengthened community involvement and collaboration

Return on Investment

While formal ROI figures are not yet available due to the early stage of the project, the reuse-first approach is expected to produce significant cost efficiencies by reducing the need for new materials, while unlocking long-term social value through increased community use and reduced vacancy of a heritage building.

Learnings:

The project reinforces several key insights about applying circular principles:

• Circular design requires flexibility, experimentation and acceptance that not everything can be reused, but much more can be than expected.
• Systems for reuse in construction are still developing, with local context essential to success
• Collaboration with clients, volunteers and makers enriches the project and builds long-term stewardship
• Small shifts collectively grow the circular economy ecosystem

Moving forward:

The St Ives Community Land Trust Chapel Project demonstrates how circular design can breathe new life into heritage buildings while delivering meaningful social, cultural and environmental impact. By prioritising reuse, minimising intervention and involving the community throughout the process, Studio Skein has crafted a solution that honours the chapel’s history while preparing it for a sustainable and flexible future.

As the project progresses toward construction, it stands as a compelling example of how local collaboration, thoughtful design and circular principles can strengthen a sense of place, support local artisans and safeguard valuable buildings for generations to come.