I believe that community is about connection and interaction between different people.. It’s a unifiable system of integrating different demographics and personalities… My Community Centre design has derived entirely on this notion…

Refer to older posts for the exercise one investigation of the words: reciprocity, insertion, materiality, infrastructure and threshold

My design started to evolve after my trip to Melbourne mid-semester. The recent building boom in Melbourne has ignited the resurgence of public space in urban design. I find public space very important especially in community design, as it allows people to stop, sit down and interact with one another in a relaxed environment.

Federation Square was probably the most important precedent in my design as it helped me to determine the character of my building. It integrates every aspect of which I consider to be vital in community design:

- public space

- transparency allowing interaction between people

- transparency allowing people to animate the building

- reflective materials creating an everchanging character to the building, almost giving it life.

Other buildings which inspired my design process were Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye and Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin.
After studying these buildings the importance of circulation became a dominant component of my design. Similar in Villa Savoye, the ramp became the focal point of my design. I wanted the ramps to be central to all spaces… the role of the ramp was to connect the different cultural institutions which were all to be designed as singular buildings. The ramp will allow spectators to view into the different space such as the café, gym hall etc until they finally reach the roof top lookout signalling the end of the interactive journey.

Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier

Jewish Museum of Berlin by Daniel Libeskind

The drawing below is from my Exercise 2 submission. I tried to emphasise the character of my design as well as the buildings spatial characteristics. The interaction between people between different spaces as mentioned earlier, is very clear in the drawing. This characteristic stayed consistent throughout my design process.

The final submission

My community centre is made up of various cultural institutions including: multiu-purpose rooms for Randwick’s high percentage elderly population, a social café, Large Multi-purpose Gym hall, Small Gym and Offices. Each of these institutions are presented as a series of disconnected spaces which are connected by circulation paths... Thus, allowing the community to be the “connectors” of the spaces. The fluent program creates a variety of spatial experiences. The extensive glazing is strategically positioned to form various vistas allowing spectators to experience multiple spaces as well as the ocean and Coogee oval simultaneously. The glazed facades of the Café and the Large Gym Hall, animated by people dining, socialising and playing sports, become emblematic of the social role of this public building in Coogee.. Thus, emphasizing the importance of public interaction and communal bonding in my design.

Another design aspect, of which I felt to be crucial in community design, was the allocation of public space. The ‘strict’ accentuated entry opens up to a large open area in front of the grand stand which provides space for people to just sit, talk, run around and interact with one another. The Large multipurpose hall has its own designated garden courtyard, fitted with bi-fold doors to the northern elevation and landscaped with deciduous trees creating an ideal environment for morning aerobics or exercise activities. The multi-purpose rooms opens up into a sunken garden courtyard adjacent to the Large Gym hall courtyard which creates a beautiful spatial experience between the two spaces. The café area also has its own outdoor balcony, which looks straight onto Coogee oval, allowing for a space for people to interact while discussing the football or cricket game at hand. With the provision of multiple open spaces I have encapsulated all elements of 21st Century communal bonding and social interaction.