The Dapto Anglican Church Auditorium is a reinterpretation of the traditional church within a contemporary social, environmental and economic context. Intended to complement nearby St Luke’s Chapel, the auditorium offers an alternate venue for a broader range of events. As a result, the site is activated seven days a week, offering a venue type previously unavailable to the local community.
Once the primary building mass was defined, circulation spaces were then carved away, informed by the flow of people in and around the two primary spaces; the auditorium and foyer. This subtraction of mass defined voids which connect these spaces to each other and the landscape. The secondary support spaces then occupy the remaining solid.
A modest budget demanded construction simplicity combined with spatial clarity and efficiency, to produce a building that is easily understood whilst standing apart from its context. The new building aims to establish a new design direction and focus for the Parish and is envisaged as stage one of a masterplan of growth.
