The NBRS+PARTNERS designed Willoughby Uniting Church was awarded the Master Building Association’s Excellence Award for the Adaptive-Reuse of a historic building. The nationally recognised MBA awards are the commercial building sector’s most valued awards.
The light filled church is a result of a creative partnership between NBRS+PARTNERS, Donnelly Construction and the church. The inspirational church design is transparent, welcoming, and engaging forming a key piece in the fabric of a Sydney 1920’s suburb.
Paddy Wood of the Sydney Morning Herald quoted; ‘the cornerstone of the design by NBRS+PARTNERS, is a giant glass atrium that cuts into the roof of the old stone church and makes it an entrance feature of the new one’.
Entering the ministry centre there is a friendly openness evoked through the manipulation of volumes and purposeful sun protected fenestration and breathing through generous wide span glazed louvers. Particular attention has been given to the detailed connectivity of glass and honest materials against the sensitive heritage fabric. The play of junctions and creation of space allows a contemporary church to sit comfortably as a contextual fit. The spaces imagined and created are a joy and will set a benchmark for public church design and will breathe new life into a community for the next 100 years.
