Central United Reformed Church Interior Design & Fit Out

When the 56-year-old Central United Reformed Church building was earmarked for demolition to make way for a £200 million redevelopment of the Becketwell Area, elders at the Church were understandably concerned. However, initial worries were set aside when proposals to create a new home for the Church close by at Stuart House, Green Lane were put forward.

Planning permission was granted in Autumn 2019 to change part of Stuart House from current office space to a place of worship. DSP (Interiors) Ltd were delighted to be appointed Principle Designer and Principle Contractor tasked with transforming the run-down office space into the new home of the CURC. The CURC plays an important role in Derby City Centre and as well as being home to a sizeable congregation provides accommodation for a vast array of clubs and organisations.

The key driver was to provide modern facilities capable of being flexible enough to cater for the wide variety of occupants. Our project team has designed a modern new internal layout, which will be better suited to the Church’s community-focused activities and provide improved accessibility for the disabled and elderly with increased security. Another important element was to streamline the current financial costs of the church, sourcing durable materials and adopting sustainable energy efficient mechanical and electrical equipment.

A complete extensive refurbishment of 2-storeys of the building was undertaken by our fit-out teams to convert the tired office space into a welcoming haven for the Church which included various remedial works due to past flood damage. The Ground floor of the building acts as the hub of the Church, housing the impressive new ‘Sanctuary’, Reception offices and facilities. Access to the Sanctuary was improved with a new external double door set having automatic openers leading directly into the sanctuary. Off the main entrance a new fully glazed fire door screen gains access to amenities corridor leading to the glass partitions that form the offices and large glass door set into the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary, inspired by the original building features, incorporates traditional elements of the existing building with a more modern twist. For example, the original stained-glass windows have been created into new light boxes set into a full height bespoke timber panelled wall. The old office ceilings have been completely discarded leaving the concrete soffit, along with all the new mechanical and electrical services exposed. A bespoke timber ‘Ichthys’ fish raft with draped industrial style element bulbs creates a wow factor centre piece. Acoustic flooring has been installed throughout the Ground Floor.

At First Floor a combination of meeting-conference rooms, large multi-functional sports Hall with Creche facility, additional toilets and a fully functional Kitchen setup have been installed to provide maximum flexibility. New office suspended ceilings have been installed throughout and a durable high MF plasterboard ceiling to the Hall. New office partitions have been installed to sub-divide the areas including a large moving wall and full height storage wall units.

The refurbishment works have completely transformed the two floors of the old flood damaged office space into a new home of the Church which will continue to see them prosper for many years to come.