PROJECTS

Avondale Heights Library

DETAILS

Arch / Design:		H2o Architects (web)
Type:		Educational
Year:		2010
Location:		Victoria
Photographer:		Trevor Mein (web)

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PROJECTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY TREVOR MEIN

This prominent corner site in Avondale Heights is opposite a McDonald's and adjacent to the local shopping strip and car repair garages. It is amid the quintissential Australian suburb famously celebrated by Barry Humphries.

Following a decade of modest local development, the Victorian Government proposed a new community resource combining an existing former school gymnasium with a new library and learning centre. This presented the opportunity for a significant, easily found and adventurous building reflecting community cultural aspirations.

The three principal building elements - existing gym, learning spaces and library - are functional and architectually prosaic. Howard Arkley's bold colourings and exaggerated pattering have inspired the design.

The Victorian Government established the brief for a community learning centre. It was to be responve to residents and interrelated to their social, leisure, information and learning needs. The project was delivered by Skills Victoria, Department of Innovation Industry and Regional Development.

It was during construction that Moonee Valley City Council determined that the project include a library. This required that the documented multipurpose hall be reconfigured as a lending library. The changes were accomodated and budget constraints and functional requirements dictated as a simple building form, expressed as two volumes.