ADAPTIVE RE-USE
Glenlyon Church
The dining area in the converted
Glenlyon church. The walls of the
interior pds do not have contact
with the original walls.
Church conversion
The Project
The project, designed by the architectural firm Multiplicity, was for the
adaptive reuse of a former church into a single residential dwelling.
The Site
The site is located in the rural township of Glenlyon. The building is
located towards the centre of a large lot surrounded by mature trees
which are protected by the heritage overlay. The lot is bounded on two
sides by roads, resulting in a high degree of visibility of the building
from the street.
The Challenge
As a building with strong community associations, any changes to the
former church had the potential to raise the ire of local residents. The
design required a delicate approach that preserved the visual integrity
of the church and its relationship with the open church grounds, while
providing a modern and functional home within.
The Solutions
The intention of the architects was to create a new life for the building
that was empathetic with the former use as a place of worship. The
structure of the building was a basic open hall. The new design
respected the inherent volumetric space of the building while zoning
the home for specific uses. This was achieved by the new interior
additions not having contact with the existing walls. Some of the rooms,
such as the bathroom and bedrooms, have been inserted as discrete
pods. It was important that new junctures did not cut off existing built
elements such as windows. In doing this the design changed the nature
of the space without undermining the sense of volume.
Externally, the interaction between the
building and the landscape was important.
The clients specified the types of spaces
and the uses they wanted in the garden. The
church and gardens had been a community
space used for weddings, christenings and
funerals. The garden design aspired to keep
the site recognisable and visually available
to the community. The hedges on the border
of the property will gradually grow and
slowly transition the garden from a public to
private space.
The steel that was used in the house is
repeated in the garden, in the external
doors, gates and sculptures. Local
fabricators were used for the construction.
The results are pieces that are appropriate
to the place. There is a lack of pretension
to the construction of the steel elements,
which is reflective of the local origins.
The Lessons
The project demonstrates that by minimising
the alteration of original fabric there can be
benefits to the building and the budget. By
minimising the alteration or removal of the
existing walls, the architects were able to
optimise the conservation of the embodied
energy of this substantial building.
The outcome was comparatively lower
construction and waste disposal costs.
The creative approach to the conversion not
only rewarded the owners with a beautiful
home but the architects (multiplicity)
received the RAIA (Victorian Chapter) Award
for Heritage Design in 2004.
Photos: Emma Cross.
Left: Exterior of the Church
Below: The living area of the converted church.