Category: Updates/upcoming events

As 2023 draws to a close, the Rosebank project hits another milestone in the progress towards construction. In early December we received the “developed design” coordination drop, meaning that the design team (including our Architect Harvey Duncan and the rest of the consultants) have consolidated all of their various design areas into a single coordinated design. This will be the design set which will launch the push towards the final “detailed design” set early next year which will be used to seek building consent and tender.

This process has drilled even more into the detail, looking at things like lighting, surface finishes, storage sizes and requirements for things like chairs or trestle tables.

Along with this design set, we have received some updated 3d renders of the building which you will see below.

As we continue to entrust this project to God and rely on his provision for the funds to complete it, we are incredibly encouraged by the generosity of the Latimer community and those outside who are financially committing to seeing the Kingdom grow in Christchurch through this new facility. If you would like to pledge or donate to this project, please visit the fundraising page. We ask for your continued prayer for the provision of the necessary funds to move into the next phase of construction in the new year.

The last several months have seen us progressing well through the detailed design stage. A few months ago we moved through the “preliminary” stage of detailed design, and are now starting to develop the details even further. We have held several meetings with stakeholder groups to ensure that the design of the building matches the ways we see it being used for ministry and the benefit of Gods Kingdom.

We are also currently in the second fundraising campaign for the Latimer congregation. This is the final push to raise a further $2m to fund the project. Praise God that $1.35m has been pledged/donated so far from 127 families/households.

If you would like to donate or pledge to the project, please visit https://build.latimerchurch.nz/fundraising/.

We will also be having a final working bee on the Rosebank site on Saturday 4th November from 9am. We would love a big turn out for this, with many tasks to do including cleaning, packing, shifting and gardening. You can sign up here.

The detailed design phase is getting well under way with the design team of architect, project staff and consultants working through various components of detail within the building. Currently much of the focus is on the auditorium, balancing all of the pieces together including mechanical systems (airflow), acoustics and visuals, lighting and windows to name a few. At the bottom of this update is an image of the current iteration of the south facing windows which is a finned system, not only does this provide diffused light into the auditorium and the ability to black out if need be, but it also provides a mechanism to stay within the acoustic bleed confines set out by the resource consent.

We also recently launched our final fundraising campaign for the Latimer Church community. This is a $2 million campaign to get the project over the line and provide the board with assurance that they can enter the tendering phase with the completed project budget of $13 million.

Please visit build.latimerchurch.nz/fundraising to find out more

February of 2023 has seen two milestones of the project.

Firstly, we have received resource consent approval for the application we put in to the council. Praise God for this fantastic news as it keeps the project moving and provides us with helpful guidance from the council to make informed decisions during the detailed design phase.

Secondly, we have officially broken ground at Rosebank and had the first digger on site! To be clear this is not the main building works which will God willing be starting later on this year, but some work that needed to be done to create a stormwater system along the North side of the main parking lot.

Praise God that we have seen some exciting momentum at the start of the year, please continue to pray for our consultants and project leaders as they get stuck into the detailed design of the new building, and for the Latimer Church congregation as we prayerfully enter into a time of fundraising $2m towards the project.

We recently held a Church meeting to share with the Latimer congregation the concept plans recommended by the Latimer Trust.

If you missed the evening you can find a recorded video below.

We also have a copy of the powerpoint presentation which can be found here

The Latimer Build Project Board were recently presented with both initial concept design plans and a report from the Quantity Surveyor (providing an initial budget estimate for the concept). This is the first target of work from many people over the last several months, and we give God glory and praise for getting us to this point and providing the people and expertise to move this project forwards.

Unsurprisingly given the state of the current building industry, the estimate came back higher than anticipated in the original project brief. While it does mean we need to re-look at some parts of the project, is a good point in the project to be getting this sort of feedback in order that we can adjust and firm up on both the concept and budget.

The Project Board provided the project build team with some direction during their last meeting which lays out the work needing to be done over the next few months;

Firstly; clarifying a budget limit for the project cost in light of the initial concept design and related QS report. This provides the project build team with clear updated parameters to work with, but also ensures that funds raised (and to be raised) are stewarded well.

Secondly; requesting that the Project Build team work over the next few months to provide the Board with design options that still achieve the primary purpose of the project as set out by the brief while staying within budget. The primary purpose here is best described as “function over form” – making sure that the core elements of the building (size, layout etc…) serve the mission of Latimer Church, and “not just us, not just now” – ensuring that consideration is given to future generations using the buildings.

Please pray for us as we work through these elements, that the Lord will continue to guide and support us.

Geoff Banks (Project Director)

As was mentioned in our previous update (read it here), we are nearing the end of the concept design phase. Over the coming weeks and months, concept plans will be presented to the project board and shared with the congregation. We are very excited to share these initial images with you as a bit of a “teaser” for what is coming up! It’s important to clarify that these images are conceptual and will change as the project continues to develop.

We are so thankful that the Rosebank site is being well used as we progress the design and prepare to undertake construction of Latimer’s new home. We are currently nearing the end of the concept design phase, having received extensive congregation input, brought together a design team, and worked with ministry teams to develop a concept for the major parts of the project: Where the building sits on the site, the broad layout of spaces, and what these might look like both inside and outside.

The concept phase is critical to streamline the detailed design phase, and then construction. Over the next month we are resolving the concept drawings for review by the board and presentation to the congregation. We are also looking to provide a more detailed estimate of the project cost soon after, so that we can all consider what is presented, provide any further feedback, and more formally decide on progressing to the next stage. The construction industry has its challenges at this time, but we have been blessed in many ways with the project to date. Please continue to pray that the Lord will continue to guide and support us to serve His purpose through this new home for Latimer Church.

Geoff Banks (Project Director)

The building project is progressing well, with both the concept design and current status of the Rosebank property making significant progress over the last few weeks.

On the 2nd April we held a large working bee at Rosebank, the hope was to get 50 people helping out, but we ended up with 70! It was a very fun and proactive day with people split into four different teams; gardening, building cleanup, kitchen cleanup, and shed/grounds organization, each with team leaders managing the tasks needing to be done. The aim of this working bee was to clean up the property (especially the gardens) for the current tenants, and to gather and organize the long list of chattels that came with the property. Thanks to the hard work of the volunteers who showed up, we are now in a position to make decisions about items left over in the purchase of the property, and we have very few things needing to be done before demolition/construction work needs to start. Thank you to everyone who gave up their Saturdays to help!

For the current design status of the project, our Architect Harvey Duncan and the rest of the design team have been working hard on the concept design of the new building. At the recent Latimer Annual General Meeting, Geoff Banks the project director presented some early concept designs/drawings of what the building might look like, this was quite an exciting milestone as the Latimer community saw concept images for the first time! Shortly after that, a meeting was held with some of the staff and stakeholders to discuss the concept design and to get some feedback on some “big picture” ideas. Our architect and design team is faced with a challenging task of putting words into drawings, ensuring that the new building serves each ministry of Latimer as best as possible. This was a very helpful and positive meeting, showing that we are on the right track! The next step in the process will be to finalize a concept design, then move on to the more detailed design.

On Sunday 21st November, we were finally able to host our church community at a Rosebank picnic! This was a fun time of socializing with live music, barista coffee, a scavenger hunt for the kids, and the opportunity to explore the vast grounds of the future site of Latimer Church. Check out the video below to see how it went!

These last few months have seen our ministry leaders engage their volunteers with the aim of gathering information about our needs in a new building. This first pass of what is called the “user brief” is almost ready and in the hands of our Architect.

We have also seen an explosion of ideas posted on our collaborative whiteboard which can be found here. On Tuesday the 8th, our Growth Groups (bible studies) spent the evening discussing ideas about the new building and posting them on the whiteboard. It is a “live” resource, so at any given point, you could see ten different mice moving around and writing new ideas.

Over the next few months, this information will be interpreted into a design brief by the design team, then during the first quarter of 2022 turned into a “concept design”. We will post more information here as the weeks go on and we make more progress.