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{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2020}}
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{{Infobox building
| name = Futuna Chapel
| native_name=
| image = Futuna Chapel SE.jpg
| caption =
| former_names =
| building_type = Chapel
| architectural_style =
| structural_system =
| location = Friend St, [[Karori]], [[Wellington]], New Zealand
| owner = Friends of Futuna Trust
| current_tenants =
| landlord =
| coordinates =
| start_date = 1958
| completion_date = 1961
| demolition_date =
| height =
| diameter =
| other_dimensions =
| floor_count =
| floor_area =
| main_contractor =
| architect = [[John Scott (architect)|John Scott]]
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| civil_engineer =
| other_designers =
| quantity_surveyor =
| awards = [[NZIA Gold Medal]] (1968) <br />
[[New Zealand Institute of Architects|NZIA]] 25-year award (1986)
| embedded = {{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=NZ Category I|designation1_number=7446|designation1_date=28-May-1999}}
}}

'''Futuna Chapel''' is a building in [[Wellington]], New Zealand designed by the architect [[John Scott (architect)|John Scott]].

Built by the brothers of the [[Society of Mary (Marists)|Society of Mary]], the chapel is named after the Pacific Island of [[Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna|Futuna]] on which the missionary [[Peter Chanel]], to whom the project is dedicated, was martyred in 1841.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walden |first=Russell |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19664685 |title=Voices of silence : New Zealand's Chapel of Futuna |date=1987 |publisher=Victoria University Press |isbn=0-86473-071-3 |location=Wellington [N.Z.] |pages=15 |oclc=19664685}}</ref> It was awarded the [[NZIA Gold Medal|New Zealand Institute of Architects gold medal]] in 1968<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McCarthy |first=Christine |date=2005-10-03 |title="... about as austere as a Dior gown ...": New Zealand architecture in the 1960s |url=https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/aha/article/view/6705 |journal=Architectural History Aotearoa |language=en |volume=2 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.26686/aha.v2i0.6705 |issn=2703-6626|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref> and its 25-year Award in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-04 |title=Futuna Chapel |url=https://wellington.govt.nz/community-support-and-resources/community-support/funding/council-funds/built-heritage-incentive-fund/bhif-funded-projects/futuna-chapel |access-date=2022-08-09 |website=Wellington City Council |language=en-NZ}}</ref> The [[Historic Places Trust]] has placed it on its register as a Category 1 Historic Site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search the List {{!}} Futuna Chapel {{!}} Heritage New Zealand |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7446 |access-date=2022-08-09 |website=www.heritage.org.nz}}</ref>

==History==

The Society of Mary's Karori Centre was formed in 1948 by converting an Edwardian villa previously owned by Sidney Kirkcaldie of Kirkcaldie & Stains Ltd.<ref>Bellamy, C. (1997). The development of Section 37, Karori : 62 Friend Street. Wellington, N.Z.: C. Bellamy.</ref> In 1958 Hawke's Bay architect John Scott was approached to design the Futuna Retreat Chapel. The Chapel was built in 1961 by the brothers themselves, with the only sub-contractor being an electrician.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walden |first=Russell |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19664685 |title=Voices of silence : New Zealand's Chapel of Futuna |date=1987 |publisher=Victoria University Press |isbn=0-86473-071-3 |location=Wellington [N.Z.] |pages=78–79 |oclc=19664685}}</ref>

==Siting==

The building was originally located on a property at 62-66 Friend Street, Karori, Wellington. Set back from the street, the building is entered from the north-west corner. The Chapel was then situated between three existing buildings, an administration block and two accommodation blocks.

==Construction==

Floors are of concrete slab construction and paved with flagstones internally. The walls are a combination of in-situ concrete and concrete block. Walls have a rough plaster finish both inside and out, and concrete block walls are left exposed. The roof is of timber framed construction and was originally clad with asbestos shingles.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/946520710 |title=Futuna : life of a building |date=2016 |others=Nick Bevin, Gregory O'Brien, Paul McCredie, Gavin Woodward |isbn=978-1-77656-052-3 |location=Wellington, New Zealand |pages=22 |oclc=946520710}}</ref> The main roof is supported by a central timber post and braced with timber struts. The ceiling features exposed rafters and timber sarking. The triangular clerestory windows are formed of gridded clear and coloured perspex. The pews are made of concrete supports and timber benches.

==Significance==

In Futuna Chapel, John Scott employed a composite language that references a number of different architectural traditions. The central timber post can be seen as an interpretation of the centre posts of the traditional [[Māori people|Māori]] meeting house or [[wharenui]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A grave concern |url=https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/a-grave-concern/ |access-date=2022-08-09 |website=Architecture Now |language=en-AU}}</ref> The steeply pitched roof forms also allude to the entry porch of the wharenui, with its prominent sweeping barge boards (maihi).

The influence of [[Le Corbusier]] may be discerned in the rough plastered concrete work, exposed concrete beams and the way the interior is dramatized by light brought into the building by high windows. Precedents may be seen at both [[Ronchamp]] and [[Sainte Marie de La Tourette]]. Care is taken to clearly express the junctions of different materials by negative detailing and the projection of beams past their point of support. The use of diagonal symmetry, gridded planning and modular dimensions all relate the building to both high modernism and classical architecture.

The roof structure is exposed within the building, and the means of support are made explicit in the Gothic tradition of a battle against gravity. The extensive use of timber for the roof, with exposed sarking, struts and rafters is typical of architect-designed New Zealand houses of the 60s and 70s that delight in the virtuostic display of carpentry work.

A book about the building called ‘Voices of Silence (New Zealand’s Chapel of Futuna)' <ref>{{Cite book |last=Walden |first=Russell |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19664685 |title=Voices of silence: New Zealand's Chapel of Futuna |date=1987 |publisher=Victoria University Press |isbn=0-86473-071-3 |location=Wellington [N.Z.] |oclc=19664685}}</ref> was published by Victoria University Press 1987. The author was Russell Walden, then a Reader in the History of Architecture at Victoria University in Wellington. In the book, Walden sets out his thesis that the building represents a blending of [[Māori people|Māori]] and European architectural concepts. On one hand it is a [[modernist]] building that uses geometrical forms and influences of the [[Modern Movement]]. It also represents aspects of a [[marae]], such as a large centre pole and sharply sloping [[eaves]]. Walden claimed John Scott achieved a fusion of elements of architecture not seen before.

==Current condition==

In 2000, the Society of Mary had no further use for the Futuna Retreat and sold it to Wellington builder Art Potter. Subsequently, the buildings surrounding the chapel were removed and replaced with [[medium-density housing]] units designed by Hunt Davies Tennent Ltd. The chapel itself was protected from demolition by the Wellington District Plan. While the 66 residential properties now forming Futuna Village were being built, the chapel was used to store materials. While tarnished, most of the fixtures and fittings remain in good condition, but [[Jim Allen (artist)|Jim Allen]]'s centrepiece wooden sculpture of the Crucifixion disappeared. In early September 2012 the missing Crucifixion sculpture was discovered by police on a farm in [[Ahititi]] in the Taranaki district.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Art of Restoration |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9ke_9xtGjU |access-date=2023-11-05 |language=en}}</ref> It was reinstalled in the building in early 2013 after being refurbished by the National Museum of New Zealand.<ref name="CrucifxReinstated">{{cite news |date=6 September 2012 |title=National Next Article: Accused dad saved baby, court told Returned Jesus statue welcomed back to chapel |publisher=nzherald.co.nz |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10832178 |accessdate=6 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/946520710 |title=Futuna : life of a building |date=2016 |others=Nick Bevin, Gregory O'Brien, Paul McCredie, Gavin Woodward |isbn=978-1-77656-052-3 |location=Wellington, New Zealand |pages=131–133 |oclc=946520710}}</ref>

Concern about the building's future came from many quarters, leading to the formation of the Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust<ref>{{Cite web |title=Friends of Futuna |url=https://www.futunatrust.org.nz/the-trust/ |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=www.futunatrust.org.nz}}</ref> spearheaded by Simon Mclellan. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was reached in 2006 between the Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust and Futuna Ltd for the sale of the Chapel and the parcel of land that it sits on to the Trust. A conservation plan<ref>{{Cite web |title=ATL: Unpublished Collections |url=https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1028974 |access-date=2022-08-09 |website=tiaki.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> has been developed by the Trust to carry out repairs and refurbishments so that the building can be appreciated as originally designed. The building fabric presents a number of challenges such as rot in some windows and externally exposed timber framing. The original asbestos diamond shaped roofing shingles were replaced by metal roofing tiles some time in the past which are unsympathetic to the architecture, and the search continues for a suitable solution. An accessible toilet was recently added to the building to enable a wider range of events to be hosted.

<gallery>
Image:Futuna_Chapel_NW.jpg|Viewed from northwest
Image:Futuna_Chapel_SW.jpg|Viewed from southwest
Image:Futuna_Chapel_S.jpg|Viewed from south
Image:Futuna_Chapel_SE.jpg|Viewed from southeast (from road)
Image:Futuna_Chapel_roof_glass_detail.jpg|External glass roof panel
Image:Futuna_interior_altar.jpg|Interior view towards the altar
Image:Futuna_Chapel_int_stained_glass.jpg|Interior view towards roof
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.johnscott.net.nz Dedication site to John Scott.]
* [http://www.futunatrust.org.nz Friends of Futuna Trust.]
* {{NZHPT|7446|Futuna Chapel}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004349/http://www.wellington.govt.nz/about/mayor/speeches/2006-08-07futuna.html Mayor's Speech at campaign launch.]
* [https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/a-grave-concern/ A Grave Concern, Bishop Jim White]

[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Wellington City]]
[[Category:Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region]]
[[Category:Chapels in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Listed churches in New Zealand]]
[[Category:1960s architecture in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1961]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in New Zealand]]

Futuna Chapel - Revision history

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