Centre_for_unity_Welwyn_Garden

The Focolare Centre for Unity has two important roles: acting as a home for the Focolare Movement in Great Britain and serving as a significant point of convergence for the Churches and the ecumenical movement and also for inter-religious dialogue.

Since reopening in October 2007 the centre has been fully utilised with over 6000 visitors.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of so many people, the restructuring of The Focolare Centre for Unity in Welwyn Garden City has reached the next stage of completion.

Having undergone much needed repair and refurbishment, every angle of the building gives witness to the mutual love of all our friends who have helped in so many ways to make the Centre what it is today – the love that you could say is part of the very fabric of the building, and is the whole point of its existence. The plans for the refurbishment, drawn up by the Argentinean architect Marcello Pardo in collaboration with members of the Focolare Movement, focussed on the vision that the building should better reflect and serve the ideal of unity. Therefore, open spaces for dialogue have been created - areas that are attractive and relaxing to be in, with a sense of peace, simplicity and harmony.

reception area of the centre for unity The first phase of work took place in 2007, the second phase was completed in September 2009 and the third phase in March 2010.

The former school dining hall and kitchen were replaced with two Conference Rooms accommodating two hundred and one hundred and ten people respectively.

meeting area The larger Conference Room can also be used as a games room. The newly insulated walls and roof and the new double-glazed windows make a big difference in winter! There is a translation booth and audio-visual technicians’ room as well as a couple of small administration offices/seminar rooms.

passage way The third phase has just been completed with the modernisation of the first floor bedrooms (overlooking the car park and courtyard). Young people – friends of the Focolare and their friends – spent a weekend working hard to help gut out and demolish the first floor ready for eight new en-suite rooms.

The new bedrooms have better insulation and the ceilings have been raised to reveal existing windows giving natural light into the previously dark bedrooms and corridor.

Centre for Unity
69 Parkway, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 6JG
Tel: 01707 323 620
email: cfu@focolare.org.uk

Ecological factors
were very much kept in mind

Insulation beyond the basic building regulations requirements.

More natural light into the corridors and bedrooms to reduce the amount of electricity used.

Movement detector switches for the lights in the corridor.

Extra mini zones for the heating installed to facilitate the selection of areas to be heated rather than the whole building.

Builders were asked to use different sorts of skips so that the debris could be recycled as much as possible.

The young people took time and trouble to separate all the metal from the wood for recycling e.g. door handles, hinges, screws in bits of wood.

Local builders and suppliers were used where possible so that travel was kept to a minimum..