Te Mānawa Atawhai - Catherine McAuley Centre
By Hamish Shaw Architects
The new spiritual centrepiece for Christchurch Sisters of Mercy presents a rethinking of traditional sacred space. Located between Villa Maria College and Mercy House, the Centre is as much a space of retreat and learning as it is a chapel.
The project imbues a sense of memory of their arrival from Ireland to the rain forests of Hokitika, New Zealand in 1878. It links the Mercy story with Maori spirituality and the ancient lore of the land, and their bi-cultural teachings.
The design illuminates these relationships with three key ideas; a building shaped by the ancient Ichthys symbol and its arc, a Sanctuary Garden at its core, enveloped with pleated cladding evoking the ‘shawl of tender mercy’.
The project has been shortlisted for a 2018 NZIA Regional Award.
Type: Community / Spiritual
Client: Sisters of Mercy
Team: Hamish Shaw, Javier Cuello Castro, Aggy Jeon, Brian Lopesi, Lucia de Zavala
Size: 450sqm
Location: 31 Peer Street, Christchurch
Status: Completed
Photography: Sam Hartnett
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Te Mānawa Atawhai - Catherine McAuley Centre
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Te Mānawa Atawhai - Catherine McAuley Centre
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About the
Professional
Hamish Shaw Architects is a contemporary, multi-disciplinary studio practicing in the fields of architecture, design and urbanism.
The studio was founded in 2014 by Hamish Shaw after 12 years collaborating with leading architects in New Zealand and Canada, on a number of award-winning projects, across civic, commercial, residential, infrastructural and urbanism sectors.
Our practice thrives on complex project briefs, with cultural, social, commercial and environmental imperatives, across urban and outstanding natural landscapes.
Completed projects include Te Manawa Atawhai – Catherine McAuley Centre, Tait Limited Interior fit-out and custom furniture, boutique accommodation for Wharekaretu, installation within the exhibition ‘Thinking About Building’ for Physics Room Gallery, master plans for three South Island primary and intermediate schools, and a number of mixed-use commercial/multi-residential concept feasibilities for the re-emerging city of Christchurch.
Current projects include a 20-hectare residential master plan in Christchurch, a boutique mixed-use development in Lyttelton, a pedestrian/cycle bridge in Auckland, a constructed landscape, and pavilions for an estate in Canterbury, and renovation of a historic house in Auckland.
The practice has recently earned national recognition for Te Manawa Atawhai – Catherine McAuley Centre. Receiving a 2018 NZIA Public Architecture Award for the Canterbury Region, shortlisting for the National NZIA Award of Public Architecture, and a finalist placing in the Interior Awards - Craftsmanship category.
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