Design Statement - St Peter's Church and Community Centre
The new Community Centre for St Peter's Glenelg integrates the main activities of the Parish, bringing the formal worship of the Church and the gathering spaces in the new building together, under one roof.
The architecture of the new building provides a visual and material link with the Church and connects the life of the Parish with the community.
The new Centre is directly connected to the Church by (l link-way and comprises a major gathering space as well as offices, kitchen, toilets, children's areas and meeting spaces. The complex provides a much appreciated improvement on our previous situation when it was necessary to gather for fellowship at the back of the Church, and we were required to cart water in buckets from one end of the building to the other for refreshments after services. The new facilities are designed to serve a variety of uses and to be as flexible as possible.
The connection of the Community Centre to the worship space enables easy and welcoming access to after worship activities, making the space a key element in the enhancement of life and growth of the Parish. With Offices on site there is much more flexibility to cater for people's needs as they arise.
The main problem of ‘living on an island' is making the best possible use of the space available. With the vision and guidance of architects and consultants we have achieved the best use of a limited area and created a beautiful building to suit the needs of a vibrant Church moving into a new future. We offer these facilities to be used by the local community as well as the Church community.
Throughout the project, the architects have been mindful of the challenge of connecting a modem building with an heritage building, preserving the view of the much loved St Peter's Church from the east, as well as showing that the new structure has quite clearly been built in the twenty first century. At night the lighting is designed to show off the Church's eastern facade. The new floodlights light up the church and when they are not operating, interior lighting gives the impression of a "floating" new modem roof.
The display cabinet ill the link-way was designed and made by the Jan Factory and will house beautiful vestments, some over 100 years old, that have been worn in St Peter's Church, Church plate which has been used in the various parish Churches over the years, and other memorabilia from parish life.
Below is a slideshow of the building process.
The soil turns.
It’s hard to believe after 5 years, but the soil has turned on the extensions to St Peter’s Church. A few of us watched as the Rector took to his shovel and began work on the construction of the foundations. He quickly handed over to the experts!
Construction is expected to take about 40 weeks, with the trees being protected by fencing during this time. Some pruning of the lower branches of the trees will be carried out by an arborist.
The memorial garden is also protected fully by the installation of a special platform. We have a photographic record of all the plaques
and if people wish to remember loved ones, arrangements can be made for access to the Church for quiet reflection.
The first building work will be the installation of piers to support part of the foundation. After the Christmas break, the concrete footings will be laid.
The Church will retain the use of the vestries and St Leonard’s Room until after Christmas and from then on, the Chapel will become the Clergy vestry, until the internal changes are finalised in the Choir vestry. This will mean different doors within the church being utilised and locks changed.
The internal colour scheme is also being finalised and a number of parishioners have been involved in the selection, with Jan Wood leading the group. Broadloom carpet will cover the main areas with linoleum in the kitchen and storeroom.
Regular site meetings now take place with the builders, Harrold & Kite, and the architects, Brown Falconer, to sort out any issues. Through some fantastic management, the cost has been kept to within $50,000 of our budget. The build cost is estimated to be $1.87M. To achieve this, we deferred the installation of the solar panels until we are in a better position to make sure we are on target. There is a contingency of $145,000 included in the estimated cost. On top of the building cost is the consultant’s fee, making the total cost around $2.2M.
The financing of the project is happening with the support of the Diocesan Office and Anglican Funds South Australia providing bridging finance until the sale of the Parish Centre. Dr Peter Heysen has agreed to Chair the Building Appeal Committee and is putting together a talented group to raise $250,000 towards the cost. Unfortunately, we were not successful in getting tax deductibility for gifts. You will hear more about the Building Appeal in the coming weeks when the various options for making contributions are explained.
There will be some occasions when traffic restrictions are in place – estimated to be a total of some five days across the project when heavy vehicles are on site delivering equipment and steel. This is done with the support of Holdfast Bay Council. No work will be undertaken on Sundays.
Written By Jayne Taylor - Chair, Building Committee
