Peter Carnley Anglican Community School Grace Chapel

The Grace Chapel at Peter Carnley Anglican Community School is a light-filled and uplifting space for worship and community. Designed primarily as a place for people to gather in faith, the brief for a Chapel within a School site offers the opportunity to integrate the ideas and expectations of both communities where the worldly and the Holy aspirations meet.

Elements of place and faith are woven throughout the new building. The built form and radial geometry reference the organic forms of local flora and Ichthus symbol. The Grace Chapel takes cues from the existing built context, yet still resonates as a separate, identifiable form. The sweeping roof and the radiating monolithic fins frame views, while the heavy limestone base anchors the design and references contextual massing on site. Majestic in its presentation, Grace Chapel is a welcoming place for worship and is responsive to the environment in which it sits.

“Grace Chapel benefits the School by providing a sacred space for worship. Staff and student wellbeing is enhanced through regular services. We build strong relationships, creating a sense of belonging and community by gathering together. The building provides connection with nature and a visual link back to the School. An intricate and complex design, the building is entwined with objects of beauty including the entrance artwork and handcrafted stained glass in the Side Chapel of All Saints. The location of the Chapel with a backdrop of mature trees adds to the sense of serenity and peace with the memorial garden.”

Felicity House
Principal