Jin Soon Ng: Final Design Proposal: Coogee Community Centre

Introduction:

The brief requires that a community centre be proposed at the site adjacent to the Coogee Oval which currently houses the grandstand, the main entrance as well as the senior citizen hall. New programs are to be introduced, which will make the centre as well as Coogee Bay Road the heart of the suburb.

Existing Site:

The existing structures were looked at, and problems were identified which would later be used as guiding principles for the proposal.

1. The Granstand as a public building, and being the largest and most dominating structure within the site, has its back facing the public which does not seem welcoming to the people entering the site.

2. The circulation between each of the independent structures was a problem, especially during rain, as the connection paths are not sheltered.
Hence, for my proposal, the existing Grandstand is to be removed to create space for a more engaging structure which will recognize the buildings surrounding the site, rather than to shut them off. All the programs will be housed under a single structure, creating a microenvironment in which each of the programs will be contained and easily accessible.

Framework of proposal

Proposal:

The approach was to allow the community centre to become a connection between the public and the oval, to set up a threshold for the transition from street, to oval.
The first step was to look at signaling. A problem identified was that the roads directly adjacent to the site were quiet, and had little traffic, which would prove to be a problem later on for the community centre, but there were 2 major roads within range (Coogee Bay Road + Arden St), which could be used to direct traffic to the site. Brook St was used as the vital threshold, to divert the pedestrians along Coogee Bay Road towards the site.

Form was used as a tool to break the continuity of the planar facade of Brook St.

The first level houses the administration offices, giving it a certain hierarchy over the other programs.
The ground level is designed as an open-plan arrangement, containing the portable storage units, café seatings, kitchen as well as the newly designed grandstand.
The lower ground level, which is underground, houses the changing rooms, workshop, small gym, as well as the large gym hall.

Section A

Section B

Elevation

The new grandstand which replaces the existing grandstand is designed with 2 faces, to respond to two different programs. One face responds to the oval, for fans to watch matches, while another face, responds to the interior, facing the hall where activities such as children’s painting exhibition, local plays, performances and so on. This allows the grandstand to be used not only during the day, but during the night as well.

Hall space during normal day use, showing one face of the new grandstand

Hall space during a performance

Grandstand during a match

The portable storage units are designed as such so that they may be rearranged to suit different functions within the centre. They may even be used as props for the activities taking place in the hall.

One of the 4 portable storage units

Placement within the community centre

Glass:

Glass was used with care in the design proposal, used to open up space, to enclose, to confuse and to create a sense of ambiguity. Clear glass is used at both ends of the centre (one facing Brook St, the other facing the oval), to allow uninterrupted views from the street, right through the centre, into the oval and beyond that. The glass also allows the structural supports to frame the landscape, bringing the landscape right up to the centre, as though it were a huge painting which became the backdrop for the activities which occurred within the centre.

Semi-opaque glass was used for the administration centre, for the storage units and the kitchen. During the day, they hide the activities within the spaces they confine, but maintains a sense of lightness, contrasting itself against the concrete shell which covers the community centre.

Night Architecture:

The design approach also took into account the community centre not only when it was in use during the day, but also during the night. When the sky turns dark, the community centre comes alive by the activity within. Each program is lit by different forms of lighting, and the centre is lit by various spots of activity within the large space.

Trees within the landscape are highlighted as spots of activity

Main entrance to community centre is lit by a single light

Cafe opening during day, and night.

Cafe seatings, where each table is lit and becomes a "spot of activity". A change of scale is played out, where these activities become much more intimate, conversations between 2 or 3 people.

When lit, the semi-opaque glass changes its character, becoming even lighter. They maintain a level of privacy, revealing only the silhouette of the activities within.

Semi-opaque glass around the administration office allows transparency, but still maintains the privacy of the users within.

Interior of admin office.

Night scenes.

Landscape:

Stairs and ramps are used to alter the experience of entering and exiting the lower ground. The ramp engages with the park adjacent to the site, allowing a slower ascend to the ground level, the landscape slowly revealing itself to the user. This means that not every part of the site is used for construction; some is allowed to compliment the adjacent playground, which in turn brings both sites together. The stairs also allows the user to experience a change in elevation, similar to the alternating heights of the surrounding landscape.

Model: