The project

WHAT/WHERE: Internal and external renovation of the Grade I listed St Edmund King & Martyr Church in Lombard Street in the City of London. The project transformed the church into a centre for spirituality. The building now offers support to people with a range of religious and spiritual persuasions, while retaining its original Catholic character.

HOW: Work included external stonework repairs, a new spiral staircase and the re-ordering of the nave, chapel, lobby and front offices. The centre for spirituality is housed inside a glass box inside the church.

HISTORY: The original church on the site, known as St Edmund towards Garcherche, was built in 1292. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but Sir Christopher Wren began designing a replacement in the 1680s. He passed the project to his friend and fellow celebrated architect Robert Hooke, who completed it in 1690. Later, Victorian architect Richard Butterworth carried out renovations.

HOW MUCH: £1.1m

WHEN: Construction work started in February 2005 and ended a year later

CONTRACT: JCT98 traditional

WHO: QS: Sawyer & Fisher, project manager: CM Parker Browne, contractor: Killby & Gayford, architect: Giles Quarme & Associates, client: Church Wardens of St Edmund King & Martyr.

PM'S VIEW: "There are various societies that concerned about changes to churches. We had to work with the Victorian Society and the Georgian Society. They found the first design too controversial so we had to come up with a scheme everyone was happy with. Part of the solution was to make the glass box inside the church removable." - Robert Ebdon, partner, CMPB