Converting redundant churches often produces a townscape response on the hesitant side of respectful, especially where the church retains a significant urban role. A coloured front door and a sign above may be all that marks the building's new use. Eastgate church at Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, is listed Grade B, mainly for its town-scape qualities. Its west front is right on the high street without the distancing of major steps or railings. Richard Murphy Architects' approach appears at first even more enigmatic than the usual. The three southern doors on the street are of solid, unpainted oak boards and the signage is freestanding, on an adjacent street corner. Only a narrow slot window within the central opening hints that something is afoot. Except, of course, for those who know Murphy's previous form, notably Dundee Contemporary Arts (AJ 22.4.99) and Stirling Tolbooth (AJ 4.4.02), where Murphy's expressive new complexity meets historic fabric in a more muscular, less deferential way than the Scarpa Murphy acknowledges.
展开▼
