2017 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
Templeton Chapel of the Holy Family (1966)
Unexpected in this rural location, this building by George Lucking, with its distinctive form, is a welcome surprise. The story of a fragile community once centred on this church and which now returns on Sundays to congregate here matches the building in its uniqueness. Entry is through a well-tended walled garden, with the entry and more functional spaces housed in a humble flat-roofed form. An asymmetrical main roof rises smoothly towards the road and dramatically reaches its apex over the central pulpit before sharply descending again. The raw material palette of exposed concrete block and rough-sawn timber extends from the exterior throughout the space. A pair of glulam beams provide two refined timber arcs over the congregation. Bespoke timber furniture and Mondrian-esque stained glass windows speak of the 1960s. Alternating vertical timber elements and stained glass panels above the concrete block dado introduce warmth and rhythm, encouraging one to look skyward and changing the quality of light in the space. For a community at times without a place of belonging the importance of this place is palpable.
