As Sydney’s population continues to grow, with a projected doubling in the next 30 years, the pressure is on for new housing and communities to build either up or out. Oran Park Town, a new community 60km south west of Sydney, is the product of the latter strategy, and replaces what used to be dairy farms and a car race track with schools, retail, and community and recreational facilities to support 25,000 residents.

Unlike some new communities, where planning restrictions have pushed places of worship from central neighbourhoods to the fringes, Oran Park Town has welcomed a new church into its heart. In an environment that encourages car use, the NewLife Anglican Church is accessible by foot or bicycles, and sits “right among the people”.

“The brief was to create a first stage 220-seat contemporary worship space with associated meeting and service spaces connecting to an open, generous foyer,” says architects NBRS+Partners’ Design Director, Andrew Duffin.

“It required the design to establish an identifiable church set within a new suburban context. The worship centre needed to be expandable for future growth with the potential for a hall, administration facilities and proportional car parking.”

One of the challenges NBRS faced was creating a connected identity between a new community and a new church. For Duffin, that meant designing a church forecourt that would be unfenced and extended to the curb line to create a sense of local ownership. Set in this forecourt is a 20m high glass tower, whose many colours – made of Linox’s Vanceva coloured glass – symbolise the unification of the mix of people in Oran Park Town.

“[The tower] is a separate form set apart from the church and floats off the ground, generating a sense of openness and connection with neighbourhood space,” Duffin describes. “It marks an identity for the community, and is a contemporary interpretation of a centuries-old campanile set in a village court.”

The Glass Tower’s stainless steel patch fittings are also from Linox, while the structural steel is coated in International Paints’ Interfine 878 protective paint.

If the dynamic glass tower is the immediate show-stopper, then the church’s façade is its subtler sister, with nuanced layers of meaning. Here, the juxtaposition of materials and expression of structure provide relief and articulation to the building’s profile, while details allow the play of light and shadows to bring additional depth to the composition. The use of the solid and transparent further defines the public and private layers to the design.

The glazing on the façade is AWS Elevate series natural anodized (AWS Elevate) with Viridian Comfort Plus Grey glazing, while the curved roof soffit is made of Hoop Pine plywood from Supawood.

An honest palette, comprising off-form concrete, laser-cut corten steel, timber panelling and textured masonry render, has been chosen so that the building gracefully patinas over time without requiring significant ongoing maintenance.

Within the building, the design is led by a desire to set a “transparent tone for ecclesiastical worship centres”. Instead of conforming to the more traditional small portico arrival hall, an open forecourt transition has been created for a more welcoming environment that maintains a strong sense of connectedness with the surrounding township.

The design takes full advantage of the north-facing aspect, opening the forecourt and arrival to the north. “Along with sun shading and weather protection, the building responds appropriately to the idea of shelter,” says Duffin.

The Foyer and Auditorium are ruled by natural light with appropriate glare control, which goes against the current trend of blacked out auditorium spaces. Large glazed sliding panels forge visual and physical links to the outside.

“The orientation of the worship space to the platform is landscape format rather than traditional portrait. The intention is to bring the congregation closer together, creating a greater connection to the worship leaders and set a greater sense of inclusiveness,” explains Duffin.

“The NBRS design for the NewLife Church is for the whole community, not just for its members. It tells an ancient story and evokes a civic pride and ownership.”

To accommodate for future growth, the final volume of the church space was completed in Stage One works, but the team inserted group meeting pods into the auditorium that are easily removed when expansion is needed.

NewLife Anglican Church officially opened on May 2, 2015.

Photography by Stuart Starr & Andrew Duffin

KEY PROJECT INFO

ARCHITECTS
NBRS+Partners

BUILDER

Reitsma Construction

PRODUCTS

Church building:

RENDERED BLOCKWORK
Wattyl Granoskin textured paint finish (Wattyl)

CONCRETE COLUMNS
Off-form concrete, class 2 finish

DECORATIVE SCREENS
Laser cut corten steel

TIMBER FAÇADE
Prodema Prodex Pale Finish (SGI Architectural)

STRUCTURAL STEEL
International Paints Interfine 878 protective paint (International Paints)

CURVED ROOF
Falzonal standing seam (Craft Metals)

CURVED ROOF SOFFIT
Supawood Hoop Pine plywood (Supawood)

Glazing
AWS Elevate series natural anodized (AWS Elevate) with Viridian Comfort Plus Grey glazing

Glass Tower:

GLAZING
Vanceva coloured glass (Linox)

PATCH FITTINGS
Stainless steel patch fittings (Linox)

STRUCTURAL STEEL
International Paints Interfine 878 protective paint (International Paints)

SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

Daylight access :

Natural daylight access has been provided to minimise the requirement for artificial lighting
Solar control/shading is employed to avoid excessive summer solar gain and glare, and allow winter sun penetration
Deciduous landscaping is used to the east and west facades for solar control

Artificial lighting:

Energy efficient lighting selection
Sensor lighting and timers

Energy efficiency:

The requirement for energy consumption through building services has been reduced through material selection, zoning, orientation and natural ventilation
Mixed mode A/C will enable flexible conditioning to suit the use of spaces and afford opportunities for passive ventilation when conditions are suitable
Thermal mass in the concrete and masonry structure will stabilise internal ambient temperatures and counter the local climatic extremes
Energy efficient appliances will be used throughout

Natural ventilation:

The design incorporates motorized awning windows to capitalise on prevailing southerly summer morning breezes during humid hours.
Cross ventilation has been maximised through the careful positioning of louvers and the avoidance of space stacking
High level louvers allow for night time heat purging

Water management:

Site pollutants are treated via the bio filter catchment basins

Waste management:

Provision for on-site recycling has been made

Materials:

Building fabric and insulation will comply with BCA Section J
Low VOC materials and finishes will be employed to reduce off-gassing
The selection of materials has taken into consideration a combination of lifecycle, durability and thermal performance to avoid premature replacement

Geraldine Chua

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