October, 2014
Christchurch residents will have noticed the huge progress made on the rebuild of Knox Church, located on the corners of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street. This is a special project to me because I not only lit the ceiling of the building in its ruined state after the earthquake of February 2011, but I won a major lighting award for my design. I'm also pleased to say it also won a prestigious Heritage Award last week.
Now the new building is almost complete. I'm pleased to say the beautiful ceiling inside has remained in place, as has my lighting that focused on its architectural beauty.
When the new building began to take shape, my focus became lighting the outside of the church. Street lighting already highlights the copper roof well, so it just needed a soft and elegant light to support the exterior architecture. The other focus was on illuminating the two large concrete columns that make up an important part of the building's structure.
An exciting addition to the Church will be the new theatrical lighting inside. This will make the building multi-purpose. For example, it may be used for a church service on Sunday, and a musical stage show on Monday. This only adds to my interest in the project, given my experience and passion for lighting theatrical productions.
The project is still a work in progress. It's a delight to be involved with. This is not only because of the points I've raised here, but also the wonderful Church Building Committee. They are all great people and a pleasure to work with.
The same must be said to Project Manager Kris Jolly and his team from Higgs Construction. They are one of the best construction companies I have ever dealt with, and there have been many.
Back to News Articles...