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Helix Chapel
- Client
- Wren & Ashcombe
- Location
- Kaipara, New Zealand
- Year
- 2025
- Typology
- Cultural
The brief
A ribbed shell mirrored in still water, so the building reads twice.
The reflection is the design. We spent longer on the water surface than on the shell — solving for a wind speed low enough to mirror cleanly but high enough to still look like a real lake.
The ribs are parametric but hand-corrected: we broke the sequence in four places so the eye has something to catch. Perfection reads as CGI. Slight error reads as built.


Specification
- Typology
- Chapel / retreat
- Area
- 340 m²
- Status
- Consented
- Engine
- Corona 12 / ACES
Scope delivered
- 6 exterior stills
- Interior set
- Material studies
- Competition boards

03 — Nave looking east