88 | Wilkie & Bruce Architects T T Rachel Graham New levels of support for those in need ARCHITECTURE Since 1929 the Christchurch City Mission has provided help to those in need, and the demand for their important services is higher than ever. The completion of new transitional housing, an expanded foodbank, and a community café at their central city site is ensuring the City Mission can continue to meet those ever-growing needs. City Missioner Corinne Haines says the relocation of the main City Mission activities across the road to a new building provided an opportunity to take its care for the vulnerable people they support to new levels. “We had been doing a great job with the people we care for for over 90 years,” says Corinne Haines, “but we saw this redevelopment as a chance to do even better, by improving our workflows and enhancing the way we interact with our clients. “It also gave us the opportunity to expand the breadth of work that we do with our clients, and to provide more suitable spaces for our staff. Our activities are continually growing, and this was putting the current space under pressure.” The buildings were designed, and the consenting, tendering and construction phase project managed, by Christchurch based Wilkie and Bruce Architects. Architect and director with Wilkie and Bruce, Hamish Peddie, says the project started in early 2019 and has been built in two stages. The first stage to be completed included the café at the front of the site, and a transitional housing building at the rear. Corinne Haines says the café/catering activities combine education and training within a social enterprise framework. “This operation creates jobs for staff, volunteers and particularly for clients who will be trained in hospitality work in a real cafe situation. “It is also a focal point for our sites in Hereford Street where people from within the City Mission and the community can experience the camaraderie and vibrancy of a local café, and at the same time providing funds to support our other Mission activities.” Of the transitional housing building, Corinne Haines says it provides a much-needed extra step in the process of moving homeless people from the emergency accommodation into permanent independent housing. “Residents will have extensive wrap-around support, with 24/7 care and supervision. This housing facility will offer personal plans to help the residents gain new life skills over the 3-month stay.” Hamish Peddie says the design of the accommodation building was complex, as they needed to create something that was cosy and residential, while also robust and secure. He says with the building they have also made use of low carbon building processes which are more environmentally friendly. This includes using cross laminated timber (CLT) for the upper floors, stairs and some walls. This reduces the weight of the building, and with less concrete it has a lower carbon footprint. Corinne Haines says they have seen a 30 percent increase in the demand for food parcels over the last year, and the former foodbank area was not coping. She says moving to a purpose-built food bank will hugely improve conditions for their workers, many of whom are volunteers. “We will also move to offer the option of a self-serve experience, a bit like a supermarket, which is mana-enhancing, boosts the dignity of receiving food, and will be educational around shopping for ingredients to provide healthy nutritious meals.” This building will also include offices and meeting rooms for the mission’s social worker hub. Hamish Peddie says Wilkie and Bruce Architects had a traditional architect - client relationship with the City Mission, from briefing and design, through to design management, consenting, contract administration and site observation. Hamish says this meant they had a good overview of the project and were able to carefully manage quality, timing and cost. Hamish Peddie says it has been satisfying to work on a project which you know will be immediately useful for people most in need. “Residents will have extensive wrap-around support, with 24/7 care and supervision. This housing facility will offer personal plans to help the residents gain new life skills over the 3-month stay.”
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