In Futuna Chapel, John Scott employed a composite language that references a number of different architectural traditions. The central timber post can be seen as an interpretation of the centre posts of the traditional
Māori meeting house or
wharenui. The steeply pitched roof forms also allude to the entry porch of the wharenui, with its prominent sweeping barge boards (maihi). The influence of
Le Corbusier may be discerned in the rough plastered concrete work, exposed concrete beams and the way the interior is dramatized by light brought into the building by high windows. Precedents may be seen at both
Ronchamp and
Sainte Marie de La Tourette. Care is taken to clearly express the junctions of different materials by negative detailing and the projection of beams past their point of support. The use of diagonal symmetry, gridded planning and modular dimensions all relate the building to both high modernism and classical architecture. The roof structure is exposed within the building, and the means of support are made explicit in the Gothic tradition of a battle against gravity. The extensive use of timber for the roof, with exposed sarking, struts and rafters is typical of architect-designed New Zealand houses of the 60s and 70s that delight in the virtuosic display of carpentry work. A book about the building called ‘Voices of Silence (New Zealand’s Chapel of Futuna)' was published by Victoria University Press 1987. The author was Russell Walden, then a Reader in the History of Architecture at Victoria University in Wellington. In the book, Walden sets out his thesis that the building represents a blending of
Māori and European architectural concepts. On one hand it is a
modernist building that uses geometrical forms and influences of the
Modern Movement. It also represents aspects of a
marae, such as a large centre pole and sharply sloping
eaves. Walden claimed John Scott achieved a fusion of elements of architecture not seen before. ==Current condition==