Acting as a gateway, the Whalebone Church is the face of the new settlement. Accessed from the spine road into Cley, the building connects to the main public square.

The church has a binary nature in its form and material. The exterior skin has a monolithic language and geometric plan composed of rammed earth walls, which conceal more organic forms within. Apertures connecting platonic spaces are softened through details mirroring the vertebrae pattern of Cley’s Whalebone House.

A key feature of the faith space is its contemporary adaptation of the Baroque and the related play on light and space. Deliberate manipulation of natural light is introduced through a combination of interstitial spaces and textured surfaces. Always open, the Whalebone Church is an active community hub that also provides a place of serenity.