Westminster Abbey to launch architectural competition

from Building Design 29 June 2009
by Anna Winston

Westminster Abbey is to launch an architectural competition to design a new £10 million corona for the roof of the building which will be built for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2013.

The competition is conditional on a positive response from a public consultation which was announced today (Monday June 29) by the dean of Westminster, John Hall.

The new corona would replace a small pyramid structure built in 1958 on top of the abbey's Lantern, after the building was damaged by an incendiary bomb during the second world war.

It will sit directly above the Crossing, the spot on which monarchs have received the crown during the coronation ceremony since 1066.

Previous designs for a corona have been proposed by the various architects who have worked on the building, including Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor and George Gilbert Scott.

Hall said: 'It is an odd accident of history that, where so many great churches have a magnificent tower or spire or dome, the abbey remains unfinished over the site of every coronation since that of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066. Now is the time to consider afresh what should be built there.

'The rich and fascinating story the abbey tells, of church, crown and state, goes back well over a thousand years. So many occasions of national and international significance throughout that time have left an indelible mark.'

The grade I listed abbey is also preparing to open its upper gallery to public access for the first time. Other plans include an education centre and a new cafe. The cost is expected to total £13 million.

A free exhibition of the proposals will open tomorrow (June 30) and will run until September.