Herne Bay: Home of Compassion

An architect and an interiors specialist teamed up to save a piece of Auckland's history, and turn it into a graceful home.

Caption1: Eight months ago the chapel was so derelict it was about to be demolished. 

Caption2: Architect Pete Bossley (left) and Greg Greaves with the sliding stained glass window. 

79H Kelmarna Avenue, Herne Bay. It's hard to believe that only eight months ago this building was in such a sorry state that it was close to demolition. 

"Like most chapels it was built in the shape of a cross, but the top part had been knocked off by a wrecking ball, and part of one side was hanging off," recalls one of its saviours, Greg Greaves. 

The chapel had been derelict for some time, and had been used as shelter by homeless people. It was built in 1937, and from 1939 until 1986 it was the centre of the St Vincents Home of Compassion complex for unmarried mothers. The Catholic church sold the complex around 2003, and 18 months ago the land around the chapel was bought by a development company which is just completing 12 modern villas on the site. Greg, of the Matisse kitchen and interiors company, was fitting out the new villas when he noticed the shabby chapel behind them. 

"I asked what was going to happen to it, and was told it would probably get knocked down. I had a chat to Pete - we'd worked on quite a few projects in the past and always thought we should take one on together - and before you knew it we owned it." 

"Pete" is award-winning architect Pete Bossley, who could see the potential to turn the chapel into a stylish modern home while retaining many of its original features. 

"It was touch and go whether we could fit in three bedrooms," says Pete. "I didn't want to change the roofline, and the volume of space is so good I didn't want to interfere with it too much." 

He came up with a design that positioned two bedrooms upstairs at opposite ends of the central, vaulted space, with a studio out the back next to the garage. The kitchen is where the altar used to be, and flows unimpeded through to the dining and living area and out to a deck and lawn. Alcoves in the arms of the building's cross shape offer a variety of uses, such as an office nook or TV corner. 

The most striking internal feature is the kwila staircase leading up to a bridge that links the two bedrooms. Its steel mesh banister against the wall contrasts with a series of staggered posts forming the balusters that run the length of the bridge on the side overlooking the room below. 

"Some people have said the posts remind them of organ pipes, which wasn't in my mind when I designed them," smiles Pete. "I was just trying to reference the vertical stained glass windows along the sides, and the vertical nature of the space. But it's good that people can see different things in them - I think good ideas have different interpretations." 

Pete and Greg chose a modern design for this feature because they wanted all their additions to be clearly contemporary, and not compete with the original touches in the 1937 chapel. Crosses remain in relief in the concrete at points indoors and out, a marble plaque bearing a Biblical verse remains where the confessionals used to be, and carved plaster grills have been left on the outside of the smaller windows. Between the living area and the deck is an elegant coffered ceiling, made up of recessed panels, saved when it had to be lowered to make room for the bedroom and en suite above. 

But Pete and Greg's piece de resistance was turning a large, circular stained glass window into one that slides across to reveal the view through the clear glass one behind it. From what is now the master bedroom, you can look out over rooftops to the Waitakeres. 

"It was quite tricky to do," says Greg. 

But it works beautifully, and this example of the pair's marriage of form and function is what makes the chapel such a classy conversion. 

A 3m yew tree was moved from the other end of the property to the back yard to add a dignified sense of structure. Pete admits he's delighted with the result of the conversion - "I wouldn't mind buying it myself" - but that getting it done in eight months was "pretty full on." 

Greg waves this away. "I'm in the fit-out game. If I can't get things moving reasonably quickly there's something wrong." 

That they managed to move so quickly, but make changes in sympathy with the building's origins, is testament to their professionalism - and compassion.