Connecting People to Place
How reconstruction works at a local church reconnected a community and strengthened social values – former College Church, Parkville.
Written by Phillipa Hall
Images by Peter Bennetts
Former College Church, Parkville
At rba it is our aspiration to undertake projects that allow us to not only explore, identify and conserve the tangible features and the intangible values – the genius loci (the spirit) – of a place which make it culturally significant, but also to produce outcomes that will strengthen and prolong the connections between people (the users and wider community) and these values.
These values, accumulated throughout time, may have several meanings which may be shared – or not – across different cultural and community groups. Our recent conservation works at the state listed Mar Thoma Church (former College Church) demonstrate the benefits, for both the place and wider community, of identifying and communicating these values.
The pluralistic context of modern intercultural communities was particularly visible in this project. The Mar Thoma Church, a relatively recent cultural and religious minority group originating from Kerela in India, proudly use a former Presbyterian Christian building, constructed using congregation raised funds during the depression of the late 1890s.
At the time of its construction, the church tower bore a delicate and ornate limestone crown and lantern – an architectural feature considered unique in Australia and rare internationally. By the early 1980s, the lantern had weathered to such an extent that dismantling was required, and a supporting scaffold installed under the remaining structural buttresses. While this intervention removed an immediate risk of collapse, it diminished both the building itself, and the ability of the community to appreciate its cultural significance. In the 40 subsequent years, the condition of the tower continued to deteriorate, and knowledge of its history, held by only a few individuals, was declining.
In 2008, the Mar Thoma Church purchased the building to house their growing congregation – an unusual situation at the time for a nation with declining religious affiliations.
The parallels between the aspirations of the original Presbyterian congregation and the current Mar Thoma congregation are striking, but in practice the integration of the Mar Thoma community into the suburb had been difficult at times.
Alongside the purchase of the building by the Mar Thoma Church, and a small addition completed in 2020, some long-term residents had prioritised the tangible elements (the built fabric, its context and views to it) over the intangible elements – the continued religious use of the building and its spiritual associations. With minimal connection between these groups, the meaning of the place as belonging to the Mar Thoma congregation was little understood by others. Without this understanding and communication, the ability to recognise – and therefore conserve – the holistic significance of the place was limited.
In contemplating the extent of conservation works, rba identified that the reconstruction of the lantern would meet the church’s three linked objectives: firstly to re-state the ongoing Christian use of the building, secondly to maximise the impact of available funds, and thirdly to provide aesthetic value for the wider community.
The conservation of the tower enabled some of the shared values of both groups to be acknowledged and appreciated. The use of the building as a place for Christian worship and for church and community events can continue, and the place has acquired new values as the first church in Australia for the Mar Thoma congregation. In parallel, the effort to reconstruct the lantern is respected and enjoyed by those in the community who value these tangible and historical elements of the building’s significance.
The lantern is now a physical and permanent demonstration of a commitment to preserve the shared and dynamic values of the place in the Parkville community, from the original Presbyterian congregation, many of whom were also immigrants, to the most recent Indian immigrant congregation.
Throughout all stages of this project, there was a shared belief that the final conservation outcome would justify the substantial efforts invested. The pride of the whole community in the conserved church as it was revealed has proved this to be the case.
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Prahran Arcade @ Open House Melbourne
Director, Roger Beeston is proudly presenting the award winning Prahran Arcade restoration works at Open House Melbourne 2024, below is a summary of the project.
History
Prahran Arcade is a substantial building designed in an ornately classicising manner typical of the late 19th century. It has a three storey front wing, however most of the building is two storey. It is included on the Victorian Heritage Register as H1960.
The arcade was designed by local architect, George McMullen and constructed by James McMullen. But what’s unusual for the time is that it was commissioned by a woman, Elizabeth Delaney. It opened in July 1890, with 29 ground floor shops including a tailor, café, watchmaker, florist, confectioner, fruit shop, frame maker, oyster saloon and dressmaker; additional uses included a hotel, café and baths. From 1920s the building was known as the Centreway and from 1960s to the turn of the century the whole building was used by wine merchant Dan Murphy.
Historical photos, research and site investigations have uncovered these layers of occupants and change. The original mansard roof was removed some time between the late 1950s and 1963. Internally, although the building now houses JB Hi-Fi, the repetitive side bays with arched openings originally contained individual shops, and later wine storage.
Before Conservation Works
The physical condition of the building had deteriorated over recent decades. RBA carried out a condition survey of the façade in late 2018, which involved a physical inspection at street level and those areas accessible from the two balcony levels, as well as sections of the upper façade which could be accessed from a boom.
The façade was in very poor condition, with multiple layers of coatings flaking and peeling off and a remarkable amount of plant growth, particularly on inaccessible areas. There was substantial cracking and spalling to the rendered masonry. Where render was missing it was apparent that embedded was corroding, expanding and causing damage to the surrounding brickwork and render. Review of larger cracks to the arches of the balcony by a structural engineer concluded that the façade was in fact gradually detaching from the body of the building.
During Works
To establish the scope of a wholesale series of conservation works, it was decided to sensitively strip the accumulated layers of non-original acrylic paint and underlying sections of damaged render. Adobe Restoration undertook this endeavour in 2021. At this time, Landmark Heritage was also commissioned to analyse a sample of the render to establish the composition of its various finishes.
During these interactions, long-lost aspects of the Prahran Arcade were revealed. A key moment was discovering the faint imprint of the facade’s name as the paint was stripped back. Utilising photogrammetry and digital technology, RBA was able to faithfully restore the render relief lettering (‘PRAHRAN ARCADE’), which now embellishes the frieze.
Challenges abounded. A fundamental latent issue was the extreme corrosion of the original iron in the second-floor balcony. Reinforcement proved impossible within the available depth and like-for-like replacement unviable due to structural stipulations. Engaging closely with Adobe and engineers at DSP, a discrete solution of replacing the deteriorated iron elements with a composite concrete slab comparable in depth to the original was established. This allowed faithful reinstatement of the timber ceiling and balcony floor level. Importantly, it also rectified the progressive detachment of the arcade’s face, ruling out the need for more visible interventions.
The damaged and detached decorative render and pressed cement elements were carefully reconstructed by specialist tradespeople using traditional techniques, and the painted signage adjacent to the ground floor entry was protected.
Project Completion
Following meticulous research and repairs to the façade, a new skim coat rendered finish was selected for the facade. This traditional render mix included sand and oxide pigments selected to match the softer, almost sandstone tones of the original finish.
The outcome is a revitalised Prahran Arcade, once again demonstrating the optimism of ‘Marvelous Melbourne’ and lifting the condition of Chapel Street. Discrete external lighting allows the building to be seen by the varied passers by, and highlights elements which may otherwise be missed.
The repair and reconstruction of Prahran Arcade’s landmark facade exemplifies the value RBA attaches to forensic, evidence-based conservation practice, in which material analysis and respect for multilayered stories guide the approach.
The project won the 2023 Victorian Architecture Award for Heritage. The jury was impressed with the specially developed render, the craft of hand-pulled plasterwork, and the creative use of a balcony floor to structurally pin the facade back to the building. They noted that “We often bemoan that quality of buildings lost to spreadsheets – the “they don’t make them like they used to” sentiment. This owner believes the numbers say otherwise. Investing in the restoration of this grand dame is good for business. We can’t wait to see what he does next.”
Connecting People to Place
How reconstruction works at a local church reconnected a community and strengthened social values – former College Church, Parkville. Written by Phillipa Hall Images by Peter Bennetts Former College Church, Parkville At rba it is our aspiration to undertake projects that allow us to not only explore, identify and conserve the tangible features and the intangible values – the genius loci (the spirit) – of a place which make it culturally significant, but also to…
2023 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards
The 2023 Awards ceremony for the Victorian Australian Institute of Architects was held on Friday the 16th June.
Several representatives from RBA Architects and Conservation Consultants attended the event, where we were proud to receive an Award for Heritage Conservation for the Prahran Arcade Façade Conservation and a Commendation for Heritage – Conservation for the restoration of Doherty House in Tarneit.
Additionally, we were pleased to see Searle x Waldron receive an Award for Architecture for the Joyce Chapel Bridge and Wardle receive The William Wardell Award for Public Architecture for the Bendigo Law Courts – both projects that RBA have been involved in.
Learn more about the Prahran Arcade Facade Conservation here.
Learn more about the Doherty House Restoration here.
Doherty House, Tarneit (Image: Thurston Empson)
Bendigo Law Courts, Wardle (Image: Tim Griffith)
Prahran Arcade (Image: Thurston Empson)
Joyce Chapel Bridge, Searle x Waldron (Image: Peter Bennetts)
RBA Projects Shortlisted for the 2023 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards.
At the recent AIA awards event, it was announced that two of RBA’s recent projects, the Prahran Arcade Façade Restoration and Doherty House, have been…