Business Central September 2021

106 | ARCHITECTURE DLA Architects “It’s a final product that all can be proud of and will be of real benefit to the local community.” The building materials are a limited palette of cedar timber, plaster, and glazing, complemented by the surrounding pared-back landscaping. Photo: Paul McCredie D LA Architects has won an award in the Public Architecture category of the 2021 NZIA Wellington Architecture Awards for its work on the Lady of Kapiti Church and Parish Centre. Practice director Glenn Gardiner says the project is a tribute to the efforts of the whole project team. “It really was a fantastic collaborative effort and one we are very proud to have been a part of. To be able to design and deliver this project for the parish and wider community has been an absolute honour,” he says. Glenn says the project not a typical Catholic church. Devoid of traditional bell towers and spires, the building boasts a modest and elegant built form. DLA was charged with creating an innova- tive, flexible, warm, and welcoming building to house the 500 seat church, 50 seat chapel, a connecting gather space, and the support- T T Karen Phelps ing parish offices and facilities. The building needed to represent the spirit of the recently amalgamated local Kapiti parishioners. DLA took on board the parish functional and aesthetic requirements, and challenged the relationship, function, proportions, and their connection to the exterior, in the devel- opment of the interior spaces and external appearance. The exterior form of the building, with large bands of low-level windows, reveals the underlying concept of transparency and pro- viding connection of those within the church, to those being invited from outside. The building materials are a limited palette of cedar timber, plaster, and glazing, com- plemented by the surrounding pared-back landscaping. Glenn says that consultation with the select- ed consultants and contractor was invaluable in understanding the site conditions and the creation of an economic design solution. “The result is that the interior spaces work seamlessly together and the main nave func- tions extremely well with the acoustic treat- ment and audio setup suitable for a range of ecclesiastical services and community events,” he says. “It’s a final product that all can be proud of and will be of real benefit to the local community.” Founded in 1974 DLA has established its reputation on doing things differently. “We like to think of ourselves and our DLA team as creative and expert individuals who care passionately about producing and delivering great New Zealand architecture. We get a kick out of creating innovative solutions for our cli- ents and simply just like to get the job done.” DLA is a nationwide practice with offices in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and Timaru. Glenn says DLA is small enough to take care of a modest residential renovation but on the other hand big enough to design, document and deliver multi-million dollar, state of the art industrial food processing facilities with the in-house expertise to cater for all projects in between. In every case personal service is a focus. 2021 has already been a busy year for DLA and a number of high profile projects have been delivered including a café at Timaru Hos- pital, an early childhood centre in Papamoa, an extension to URLAR Winery in Gladstone and a bungalow project in Point Chevalier and a house extension in Grey Lynn, Auckland. The company is presently working on the ECE facility at Papamoa and Ingham Suzuki Car Dealership in Taupo is almost complete. Innovative church a worthy winner hutt@cuttriss.co.nz 04 939 9245 kapiti@cuttriss.co.nz 04 904 5420 Positively Influencing our Environment by Design Experts in land surveying, engineering and planning. With over 70 years experience in the Greater Wellington Region, Cuttriss is your one-stop-shop from start to finish . 2019 SUPREME WINNER & PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY