This week, the central steel portal was installed. The portal is designed to provide the bracing required for the chapel’s long and open space. Because the chapel’s ceiling follows the roofline, the portal gives an early hint of what the internal space will be like.
External Colours and Design
In addition to the installation of the steel portal, we have also approved the chapel’s external colours. These will be a lightly modified version of the images shared below.
While we had intended to choose darker colours – to create a more ‘modern’ appearance that would better integrate with existing buildings – we subsequently chose a much lighter colour palette. This was because a lighter palette was more inviting, timeless, aligned better with the interior colours, and would be more efficient in managing the heat of a Hawke’s Bay summer.
However, a lighter coloured building does present one challenge that a darker building does not, how it integrates visually with the existing buildings that are cream/light beige in colour. To address this, we have shifted to a slightly warmer white and intend to use a similar colour palette when the other buildings are repainted. As the auditorium was built 16 years ago, it will need a repaint soon.
An additional ‘feature’ that we are exploring to help integrate the new and old is a ‘trellis portal’. This structure would adopt the same profile as the chapel, and would be used to screen one end of the ministry centre. Its purpose would be to help: integrate the differing profiles of new and old buildings, aesthetically improve road frontage and access to the chapel, and create the kind of space where people can take photos when attending a service/event. The idea of a ‘trellis portal’ was part of early plans for the chapel (image included below), but as it could become something of a sail in high winds, the engineering requirements and unknown cost resulted in it being shelved. However, due to the many benefits it would provide, we are reexploring this as an option.
Please note: Being a construction site, there are many hazards that present health and safety risks. So we ask that you avoid entering the construction site unless you have been formally inducted.
You can support our ‘Build Back Better’ project by sending donations to:
Account Name: Havelock North Baptist Church
Account Number: 03-0642-0737741-01
Just add ‘Building’ in the particulars, alongside your tithe number (if you have one) as the reference.
