This is plants of the Mediterranean mingling with plants of Melbourne. Set next to an existing heritage church and within the residential context of Kensington, this project is a new and contemporary chapel, daycare facility and community building for the Coptic Orthodox Church. The new building is formed around a courtyard space facing the main street frontage. It is a generous public space paved with an ornate pin stripe of red clay and gold. This figured ground plane slips under the glazing line to connect the internal uses of the new building to the plaza and street beyond. A threshold is provided between the plaza and the street consisting of a band of planting, half located on terra-firma and half on structure – half planted from the indigenous Eucalyptus pulverulenta compacta in coppiced form and half planted from mature specimens of the exotic Olea europaea. These are plants with different origins, but that share a common colour tone. They mingle on site as a reminder of the ancient foundations of the Coptic Church and the ancient Country that it has been transported to. The trunks are set at equal spacings, mirroring the rhythm of the colonnade behind them. This band marks the boundary between public and private as a green and porous edge rather than a wall – an exchange with the public street rather than a retreat from it.