Our Lady of Kapiti Church

Our Lady of Kapiti Church is not your typical Catholic church. DLA were charged with creating an innovative, flexible, warm, and welcoming building to house the 500 seat church, 50 seat chapel, a connecting gather space, and the supporting parish offices and facilities.   The building needed to represent the spirit of the recently amalgamated local Kapiti parishioners, with a modest and elegant built form, devoid of traditional bell towers and spires. DLA took on board the parish functional and aesthetic requirements, and challenged the relationship, function, proportions, and their connection to the exterior, in the development 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 providing 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, complemented by the surrounding pared-back landscaping. Consultation with the selected consultants and contractor were invaluable in understanding the site conditions and the creation of an economic design solution.  Interior spaces work seamlessly together and the main Nave functions extremely well with the acoustic treatment and audio setup suitable for a range of ecclesiastical services and community events. Together, the project team and parishioners have created a project that fully satisfied the clients brief, was a joy to work on, and a final product that all can be proud o