2024 New Zealand Architecture Awards Winner
Cathedral Nave | Holy Trinity Cathedral Auckland (1995)
In the late 1980s, Richard Toy’s proposal to shift Benjamin Mountfort’s timber St Mary’s Church across Parnell Road and create a soaring new nave to abut the enclosed brick chancel was not without controversy. Toy’s original scheme had a bell tower and buildings along Parnell Road to form a hilltop village square. None of that was built, however, allowing the new Holy Trinity Cathedral’s heroic timber folded-plate roof to soar clear on the top of Parnell Rise, with its welcoming gesture back to the city. Inside, the big roof appears to float free as low enclosing walls are mainly glazed. The sloping floor puts the focus on the altar, while the volume of the nave is flooded with light and colour from magnificent stained-glass windows. Today, the building freely accommodates an enormous range of activities, from brass-band concerts to state funerals, and is widely used by different public groups. This public-spirited building encapsulates so much of what is wonderful about Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
