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Manresa House
Manresa House involved the modification, expansion, and sustainable retrofit of a community facility—with an overarching goal to modernize the facility while respecting Jesuit traditions and preserving the existing building.
For the past 50 years, Jesuit novices have lived at Manresa House for their first two years of training alongside some permanent residents. The existing complex included several connected buildings, including a villa built in 1840. All but the latter were demolished.
| Client | Jesuits of Britain |
|---|---|
| Architect: | OMI Architects |
| Size | 2 Stories | 16,200 SF (1,505 SM) |
| Sustainability | BREEAM Excellent principles applied. The annual generation capacity of on-site renewables is 23,850 kWh. Enhanced biodiversity by creating 18,729 SF (1,740 SM) of new scrub meadow planting. |
| Office: | Hebden Bridge |
| Completion: | 2023 |
Developed in collaboration with the local community, the new program includes 24 bedrooms, offices and meeting rooms, a library, and a new chapel and solves longstanding issues of privacy, air circulation, and accessibility within the building and the exterior landscaped areas.
The Catholic Church is one of the world’s largest nongovernmental landowners, with holdings estimated at 177 million acres (277,000 square miles). Recognizing that carbon footprint, the community wanted to respond to the Catholic Church's position on environmental issues, including its accountability for land-use.
The new U-shaped extension consists of multiple wings extending from the original Victorian villa. Crafting a structural design that could resolve the site’s varied levels represented our team’s biggest hurdle, which we overcame by designing shallow strip foundations that provided a low-carbon solution that reduced the amount of digging and fill.
On-site renewable energy sources, such as ground-source heat pump boreholes and rooftop photovoltaics, were incorporated in tandem with an energy-efficient building structure to reduce carbon emissions.
Balancing sustainable interventions with traditional building methods, Manresa House lives on as a revitalized place for learning and spirituality.
