Earlier this week, my 'expertise' (if you can call it that) was called upon by the Manchester Universities Chaplaincy. Some friends within the chaplaincy (and probably some others) have come up with a plan to brew their own beer and sell it with the profits for charity. There is a cellar beneath the sacristy that is currently unused and this is what will hopefully be the brewery.
I was asked to come up with some drawings that could be taken to the planning committee and the town council and other relevant parties to sell the idea and get permission to go ahead with the project. The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, on Oxford Road, is, as I found out today, Grade 1 listed (hardly surprising) and one of the 100 most interesting churches in the UK (something to do with the bell tower - I am yet to look into it)
So today, I met up with Joe, friend and one of the project leaders, to take a survey of the site. I was quite excited to get onto site and take a look, although the idea of surveying a whole area with just a tape measure, pencil and sketch book was a little daunting.
After finally getting the right key to the cellar, Joe showed me around and told me what the plan for the place was. One room was completely out of bounds due to it being home to the church's heating system - an ancient oil burner. There were also a couple of small storage rooms that will be used in the new brewery. What will be the main brewery was probably the largest room in the cellar and currently full of old kneelers and stonework which made getting the measurements extremely fun! Luckily I had Joe to help me with the measuring (not sure I would have been able to reach everything!) and now all that's left is for me to get them into a plan and possibly a couple of sections showing the interior of the brewery.
There, as with everything these days, is the question of health and safety although by the sounds of it, fire exits have already been considered in ways of the brewery door and an escape window in the brewery as well. Having never really looked into fire escapes into much detail, I am going to have to refer to those lovely approved documents and make sure that there are no problems and that we get the requirements right.
This is definitely something I am going to enjoy doing. In a way, it reminds me of when I did work experience back in 6th form and I helped to survey a building in the town which had recently been discovered at the time to have a timber façade dating from the 16th century. This will be my first real real taste of being an architect and I can apply the skills I have learnt over the last couple of years. But for now: to AutoCAD!
