St Joseph’s Church is the symbolic focus of a block it now shares with an early learning centre (ELC) and primary school, at the nexus of the Green Square Urban Renewal Area and Rosebery Estate, on Gadigal Country. The 1927 church has a significant yet modest presence as a weighty brick edifice within this Catholic collective. The project achieves big impact with a small budget, creating a greater sense of sacredness and welcome, improving alignment of the interior with contemporary liturgical practice, building stronger synergy across the site, and addressing access non-compliances, whilst retaining existing functions and footprint. ‘Laudato si’ – On Care for our Common Home – is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. It speaks about protecting and repairing the environment. Sustainability is fundamental to the strategy of retention employed here.

2025 AIA NSW Architecture Awards – Shortlist: Interior Architecture