Bishop Selwyn Chapel
The Bishop Selwyn Chapel completes Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland. The design extends the journey from the open square in front of the nave through to the Columbarium garden and beyond to Auckland’s volcanic maunga.
A gilded ceiling plane extends from the original chancel wall over a basalt paved floor plane. The rising roofline takes in the Auckland landscape toward Maungakiekie in the south whilst also bringing in the the slate roof forms and timbered facade of historic St Mary’s on its western perimeter.
The chapel connects the ambulatories beyond the high altar wall and provides a place of worship in the Cathedral garden, surrounded by century old oak trees.
The open form unifies the eclectic building typologies and outdoor spaces of the cathedral precinct.
Project Details: The internal floor area is approximately 200m2, with covered terraces expanding into the garden beyond that. The design competition was launched at the end of 2011 with construction completed in mid 2016. Fearon Hay’s project team was led by Stephen de Vrij with Michael Huh and Chris Wood. Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon are the design architects. Photography is by Patrick Reynolds.
Recognition: Winner of the American Architecture Prize (AAP Awards 2017) Winner of the John Scott Award for Public Architecture (NZIA National Awards 2017) Winner of a Designer's Institute Gold Pin for Public Architecture (DINZ Best Awards 2017) Winner of an NZIA Public Architecture Award (NZIA National Awards 2017) Winner of a Highly Commended Award for Religious Architecture (World Architecture Festival 2017) Voted in the Top 10 Most Transformative Projects in NZ in the past decade (Architecture NZ, 2017)