Western Australia
Wollaston Chapel was designed by the Hungarian-born Perth architect Julius Elischer.
Its design was influenced by Le Corbusier’s Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, built in 1955. Elischer had worked under Ferninand Streb, a pupil of Le Corbusier’s. Like Notre Dame du Haut, the stark white interior of the Chapel is punctuated by deep-set windows of different coloured glass. The architect’s vision was of a ‘tent of meeting’. There is no set place for the altar or any furniture, to enable it to be configured in multiple ways. Its design was a bold departure from traditional church buildings and reflects the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s. At the time it was stated that “the Chapel is of the greatest simplicity and dignity, returning to the earliest days of the Church for its inspiration.”
The Wollaston College Chapel, designed by the Hungarian-born Perth architect Julius Elischer, is a pre-eminent example of enduring architecture. Of outstanding merit, this building continues to meet its original brief and due to its meticulous detailing, it appears as fresh today as the day it was consecrated in April 1965 by Michael Ramsey, the then Archbishop of Canterbury.
Influenced by Le Corbusier’s Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp, the stark white interior of the Chapel is punctuated by deep-set windows of different coloured glass. Its design was a bold departure from traditional church buildings and reflects the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s.
The architect’s vision was of a ‘tent of meeting’. There is no set place for the altar or any furniture, to enable it to be configured in multiple ways. The concave ceiling appears to ‘float’ above the building, owing to clear glass panels between the tops of the thick concrete walls and the roof itself. Light ‘flickers’ through the coloured glass and through the ‘clerestory’, suggesting the movement of light through canvas walls and under a canvas roof.
The Jury considers the Wollaston College Chapel to be a worthy recipient of the 2023 Richard Roach Jewell Award for Enduring Architecture.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
