A planning application has now been submitted for The Wall of Answered Prayer, a national landmark to sit at the heart of the nation on land in Coleshill near Birmingham.

The monumental piece of public art to consist of one million bricks, with each brick representing an answered prayer, was designed by Southampton-based architectural practice Snug Architects. Their interpretation of The Wall depicted as a Mobius strip (a non-orientable surface which seemingly has no beginning and no end) won top spot in a global competition launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2016.

Beating a field of 133 entries from 25 countries, the Snug winning concept was first finalised in a field of five, before being selected as the stand-out design in May 2019 by a judging panel of industry experts and national influencers.

Application for the huge landmark structure was submitted to North Warwickshire Borough Council which validated the submission in early January. The documents outline the project’s associated visitor centre and public open space, including a car park and landscaped gardens, where visitors will be welcome to relax and reflect on the relevance and power of prayer.

With construction due to be complete in 2022, The Wall of Answered Prayer will sit close to both the M6 and M42 and rise 50 metres into the skyline, to be seen by an estimated 500,000 journeys each week across the two motorways, the new HS2, and flight paths in and out of Birmingham airport.

The massive architectural sculpture will celebrate and preserve the UK’s rich Christian heritage and be a holding home for testimonies of answered prayers not only submitted by people from around the country, but also discovered by historians, highlighting answered prayer going back as far as thirteen centuries ago in 600 AD.

CEO Richard Gamble, who first had the idea for The Wall in 2004 is absolutely thrilled with the design and how the project has progressed to this next stage: “This building has been my dream for many years,” he says. “It’s phenomenal to see it all finally fleshed out by Snug in such a beautiful and elegant design.

“We want to celebrate and remember all the prayers that God has answered for individuals throughout our nation’s history. Our hope is that this will be a piece of art that provokes discussion, and that when people visit The Wall of Answered Prayer and interact with the one million testimonies, they will see a small glimpse of God’s character. We expect that this will have a significant impact on our nation.

“Since the RIBA competition ended, I’ve been able to work more closely with Snug on a more detailed brief, and the team has taken the design to the next level. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Paul Bulkeley is Head Architect for The Wall of Answered Prayer and is founding director of Snug Architects. He says: “We are all very excited to see this impressive project a step closer to reality. It’s a structure of national significance and we are honoured to have played a part in the vision and the team that brings such a large-scale monument to the heart of the UK.”

Carl Brookes, Director – Engineering Simulation at Ramboll says: “It is not often that opportunities to work on such ground-breaking architecture occur, and so we are absolutely delighted to be working with Snug and The Wall of Answered Prayer team on delivering this national monument. To develop the engineering required to make the truly radical and gravity defying form of the Mobius strip reality will be both challenging and thrilling. Undoubtedly this will be an inspirational, thought-provoking and iconic structure for generations to see and visit.”

Renato Benedetti, Director of Benedetti Architects was the Chair of the RIBA judging panel, and comments: “It was clear to me from the beginning that this was the stand-out proposal. It’s soaring sculptural form, meaningful elegant variety of spaces and clever use of the site, had the inspiring wow-factor to engage and enthral visitors.

“It’s a privilege to be involved throughout and a joy to see the design mature and progress to the planning application. Well done everyone!”

Construction for The Wall of Answered Prayer is due to start in December 2020.

The link to the planning application submitted to North Warwickshire Borough Council can be found here: