116 | Tawa Anglican Church: Peryer Construction COMMUNITY Tawa Anglican Church The renewal of Tawa Anglican Church balances restoration with carefully crafted new spaces designed for connection and shared purpose. RLB.com Wellington T 04 384 9198 RLB delivered cost management expertise to help realise a place of worship that serves its congregation today while preserving its legacy for tomorrow. New home taking shape After many years of planning and fundraising, the site is being be transformed, with a larger, modern and far more engaging space for people to gather. T T Sue Russell Exciting things are happening on the site of St Christopher’s, the Tawa Anglican Church, as a new home for the congregation and the wider community takes shape. After many years of planning and fundraising, the site will be transformed, with a larger, modern and far more engaging space for people to gather. Church member and vicar’s warden, Phil McCarthy, says there is much good energy behind the project. “The wonderful thing about our community is we have a large number of families. Our Sunday services currently welcome anywhere up to 150 people, and there’s double that number actively involved. “In addition to the multi-purpose Emmaus Centre, which is sound and will be staying, our previous facilities comprised a church auditorium and ancient hall, which were linked by a makeshift foyer. “There were significant leaks across the site, as well as asbestos issues; it wasn’t fit-for- purpose so something had to be done. However, the auditorium was good and 90% up to code,” Phil says. “When we realised something needed to happen to future-proof the church and facilities, we engaged BSM Architects, who had a history of building or rebuilding a number of churches,” says Paul Rogers, who is a licensed builder and construction manager, and member of the building committee and vestry. “After the first tender phase, we realised we would have to scale the proposed design back, to cut our cloth to fit somewhat. Our technical team were able to look at the design from ‘a fit- for-purpose’ perspective and the process proved very successful, allowing us to move forward to the construction phase.” Paul says working with Peryer Construction has been a smooth and enjoyable process. “Luke Harvey, on-site manager, has been fantastic to work with, with a positive, practical approach to issues, always a calm demeanour, but with a tight grip on the day-to-day process and a good handle on the long view as well.” Bi-weekly site meetings comprising the St Christopher’s technical team, Paul Rogers and Allan Pledger, with site manager Luke Harvey, Peryer’s QS, Leighton Smith and Nigel Fox, Peryer’s project manager, have kept everyone in the loop and working effectively through ongoing issues and future construction plans. “With Bevan Hartley of QLB, the finances have had great oversight to manage ongoing payment claims and variations. All in all, the journey with Peryer Construction has been a positive, robust experience and I recommend them as a construction partner,” says Paul. “From the beginning, the architects’ focus was embraced to ensure the buildings would serve the wider community just as much as the church itself. The advice from BSM Architects is that there is a wonderful opportunity in the build to create something light and bright with a strong invitational feel to the centre’s opening and foyer.” A stunning and very welcoming church centre has been designed, featuring a large extended roofline over the entry to the foyer/ auditorium. “It was always important for us to make sure the entrance was open and engaging to those walking by, not closed off as often they have been designed in churches of the past,” says Paul. Both Phil and Paul agree this is the right approach, given the Tawa Church facilities have always been at the service of the community. “The foyer has now become the heart of the building and it’s so close to the footpath that it’s eliminated a sense of threshold or entry barrier,” Paul says. “Given the prominent nature of the site in the heart of Tawa, we recognised the opportunity to give the neighbourhood a real physical ‘lift’, and to reflect in the open design this sense of welcome, as well as of belonging to the wider community.” Beyond an impressive foyer, other key features of the build are meeting rooms, a large modern kitchen and a new 40-seat chapel. The existing pohutakawa tree will remain in the planned landscaping. In terms of the cost, Phil says the church has $1.2m of the $4m development still to raise. Fundraising has been assisted by the sale of a satellite church and an older house the church owned, as well as a fundraising campaign among the congregation. There is an active campaign underway seeking further donations. “We welcome support or sponsorship from businesses and individuals in the community, and should it be necessary, we will take out a loan to complete the project.” Resource consent has been gained for phase 2 of the total build – the centrepiece of which is a large community hall. This would involve moving the church offices over into the new main centre.
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