atelier wagner extends st.margaret's eltham church with black cantilevered canopy

atelier wagner architects has extended st.margaret’s eltham church in australia, stitching together its disparate components into one complex. besides refurbishing the church’s hall with a new kitchen and toilets, the studio has added an extended worship space in the form of a black cantilevered canopy that takes its cues from the gabled roof of the existing building.

all images by trevor mein

atelier wagner architects has carefully designed the sculptural extension according to the registered status by heritage victoria of the original church and the old vicarage, which requires additions to be discrete from the street and demonstrate a rapport with the mid-nineteenth century structures. the black cantilevered canopy reaches out over the glazed entry between the church’s striking polychromatic brickwork and the uneven rendered mudbricks of the parish hall, fulfilling the original architect’s vision of an extended worship space.

the extended worship space follows the architecture and gabled roof of the existing building, while inside, it has been designed to operate in both a traditional axial seating configuration as well as a more contemporary horseshoe seating array. modulated bays re-interpret the church’s tectonic rhythm, establishing a distinctive character with new liturgical and spatial opportunities for the worship space within.

project info:

name: st.margaret’s eltham

architect: atelier wagner architects

location: pitt st, eltham VIC 3095, australia