2015 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
Knox Presbyterian Church Rebuild
Following the collapse of Knox Church’s exterior walls in the February 2011 earthquake, the painstaking retention of the original roof structure and other interior components is to be celebrated in a city with so few examples of its kind remaining. Instead of creating a pastiche replica, the architects have designed a strong concrete and copper shell informed by the Gothic original but refusing to be subordinate to it. The contemporary treatment of the new gables allows more light into the Church and provides better views into and out of the building, reflecting the congregation’s desire to connect more with the community. Modern seismic resisting elements in the form of post-tensioned precast concrete buttresses replace the original brick buttresses, and a completely new concrete raft foundation under the rebuilt timber floor has been seamlessly incorporated.
- Practice
- Wilkie + Bruce Registered Architects Ltd
- Category
- Public Architecture
- Location
- Canterbury
