This is an aspiring little building, transforming a modest nineteenth century Presbyterian timber chapel into a revitalised home for the Christian Community Church.
Joseph Beuys, the German social-action artist, once postulated that the incarnation of Christ is all-pervading in space, time and matter through the element of movement and that the principle of resurrection was to metamorphose the old form which is dying or has ossified into a living, stimulated, vital form which challenges the spirit and benefits the mind. This, he said, was the expanded definition of Art.
Beuys’ thought resonates here in the dynamic unfolding of the new additions out of the old chapel core and in the preceding spirited debate over how function, identity and inspiration would be best expressed in the rejuvenation.
At the front, growing out of the old symmetrical core, is a series of metamorphosing forms in the same modest materials as the original, turning towards the north – opening towards the sun and protecting the sanctum of the chapel from the movement and noise of the street.
The entry offers a gentle gesture of welcome and shelter. Beyond this threshold and wrapped around the sanctum of the gathering space is a light-filled series of spaces, adapting in turn as foyer, exhibition and meeting places. A kitchen supports the socialising nature of these spaces and beyond it a verandah room looks out to the east garden. The sequence of spaces offers opportunities for peaceful reflection, renewal, ritual and, above all, inclusiveness and support, with prayer and quiet thought combined with gatherings for shared meals or refreshment.
Colour is a critically important dimension in the project, transforming the tired old brown wooden heart into a fresh and vital interior ambience for worship. For example, the deep violet hue of the altar and sanctuary are seen as focussing a window into the spiritual world. The interior dramatises the engaging struggle between light and shadow, the resultant colour, as Goethe mused, being the deeds and sufferings of light.
At the end of the process of closely working with the congregation, we hope we have together made a place, a new home, in which each community member and the community as a whole finds authentic reflection and warm support.
Hawthorn, Victoria2005
The Christian Community in Australia Inc.