Joyce Chapel Bridge, Searle x Waldron Architecture, RBA, Claire Martin

Manufacturer: Daniel Robertson | Recycled
Brick collection: Hawthorn Black, Cambridge, London, Oxford, Red, Surrey & Tan | Recycled
Builder: Axis Infrastructure
Contractor: Hayden Bradley & Mal Sinclair Bricklaying
Photography credit: Peter B Bennetts

Joyce Chapel Bridge offers a functional pedestrian connection and place for reflection as visitors arrive at the Fawkner Memorial Park chapel and crematorium. The design reinterprets a preexisting 1930s garden bridge, which had been unused for several years due to structural decay and safety issues. Nestled amongst eucalyptfringed banks and spanning Merlynston Creek, the new symmetrical design creates a wide paved path for groups to approach the chapel, framed by sunken planters containing banksias and native flowering plants. Semicircular voids in the centre of the bridge deck create calm moments to sit and observe the movement and reflections of the water below, while also referencing the distinctive circular geometry of the prior bridge’s culvert. Filtering and revealing views of the landscape, the brick balustrades change in height and increase in porosity to create a framed directional view towards the chapel, contrasting hidden glimpses from the creek. The circular geometry and subtle brick colour shifting from charcoal to red reinterpret the rough materiality and character of the heritage bridge’s concrete culvert, red brick abutments and lava stone drywall. The variation of heavy textured bricks creates a strong contextual relationship and backdrop for public use and landscape growth.

“A stunning project with a high consideration for permeability and detailing. Joyce Chapel Bridge is a wonderful expression of how masonry can coexist with the landscape environment and enhance it.”
Jury 2022