Project Overview
Chatswood is the third largest retail centre in Australia, behind Sydney and Melbourne. It is dominated by large internalised retail complexes and intense retail activity. It was into this context that the City of Willoughby decided to make a public place devoted to creativity, learning and debate as a relief to the compulsion to purchase. After over ten years of debate and intense consultation culminating in a popular vote the project for a civic place was realised. A public open space where you do not have to purchase is at the centre of a complex of artistic performance venues, Library and Community function rooms, The Concourse.
The complex is conceived as an organic sculptural form opening, embracing and defining a new public place that is raised on a stone platform. Ribbons of polished aluminium wrap and enclose the timber lined performance venues creating silent surfaces amid the noise of retail and opening the foyer spaces to the Street and Square through filtering ‘brise soleils’ of plywood.
Below the hovering ribbons that hold the concert hall and theatre volumes, the other facilities are accommodated within the terraces and platforms of the stone podium. This stone base is an interpretation of the stone ridge stretching from the City into the northern suburbs, which formed the spine of settlement.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)
Team
Architect
Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)
Project Team
Richard Francis-Jones, Jeff Morehen, Richard Thorp, Matthew Todd, Elizabeth Carpenter, Annie Hensley, Kathleen Selle, Basil Richardson, Andrew Chung, Karina Mason, Sahar Koohi, Jze Gan, Cecilia Huang, Jason Luk, Murray Wood, Catharina Weis
Landscape Architect
Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)
Landscape Project Team
Matthew Todd, Mark Brandon, Zuzana Piackova
Builder
AW Edwards
Contractor’s Architect
Toland
Project Manager - Delivery
Savills
Project Manager - Design
Quadro Projects
Structural & Civil Engineer
Taylor Thomson Whitting
Façade Engineer
Aurecon (previously Connell Wagner)
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
WSP Lincolne Scott
Specialist Lighting
Vision Design
Hydraulic/Fire Services Engineer
Warren Smith & Partners
Acoustic Engineer
Marshall Day Acoustics
Theatre Consultant
Marshall Day Entertech/RTMI
Fire Engineering
Arup
Sustainability Consultant
Built Ecology (previously Advanced Environmental)
BCA Consultant
The Hendry Group
Catering Consultant
The Mack Group
Vertical Transport Consultant
Transportation Design Consultants
Wind Engineer
Windtech
Quantity Surveyor
WT Partnership
Library Consultant
David Jones
Retail Consultant
Wilmot RPS (previously Wilmot Murchie)
Public Art Consultant
Pamille Berg Consulting
Feng Shui Consultant
Feng Shui Dragon Enterprises
Project Brief
The brief presented to the community at the masterplan phase described the essence of The Concourse being an icon with a distinctive and sculptural form which could house the community’s spirit. The buildings and open space were to meet the community’s expectations of this vision, creating a unified centre, providing inspiration, opportunity, learning and celebration. A focal point.
The functional requirements of the brief included a 1000 seat concert hall of traditional shoebox form, 500 seat theatre for drama and musical theatre, 5000sqm municipal library, generous back of house space, retail, exhibition, administration, rehearsal space, open space and 2 full basement levels of carpark. The design was to coordinate with a hotel to be located on the eastern edge of the site which was to be the subject of a separate EOI. This was to also to provide the Civic Hall. Fortunately, feasibilities during Schematic Design phase highlighted the risks of private development of public facilities and the 500 seat Civic Hall was also included on the main site during schematic design. Developed before Green Star tools, Willoughby City Council commissioned an Environmental Brief setting a very high standard for a public facility.
Project Innovation / Need
The lowering of many of the facilities under the podiums resolved a series of challenging brief requirements and the overshadowing issues of southern orientation. The built form, which could have occupied the full footprint of the site many times over, offers over 5000sqm of accessible open space with significantly improved northerly aspect. Areas for tranquil contemplation, outdoor dining, meeting and breakout are provided over two levels of public square and garden.
Design Challenge
Despite degraded facilities, the site of the Concourse was traditionally the focus of regional cultural and community events. A constrained budget, targeted to a regional standard, required sensitive application of materials; illustrated by the concert hall, where the ceiling was left bare to allow for a carefully crafted envelope surrounding the audience and performers. This resulted in an unusually intimate character, given the scale of the hall. A small proportion of the construction cost was allocated to public art resulting in a number of installations.
Due to the area constraints of the site, and the desire to fully embrace the best aspects of co-location, the Concourse consists of a matrix of interwoven facilities. Vastly contrasting functional requirements were required to work harmoniously and in close proximity to each other. Technical issues, particularly acoustic parameters of the performance venues, drove many key design decisions; the complex is designed as three structurally and acoustically separated boxes. The ribbons of timber joinery within the concert hall were individually designed for their reflective and resonating characteristics as well as lighting and mechanical design. Interior space flows seamlessly into podium space, both in form and material, extending opportunities to perform, display and gather.
Sustainability
Water saving measures:
• 5000m3 tank captures, cleans and reuses water from a 19ha catchment, targeting a reduction of non-potable water consumption by more than 80%
• AAAA (4A) rated toilets, hand basins, taps and showers, plus waterless urinals
• Water is also sold to Westfield for use in their cooling towers.
Energy reduction:
• High energy efficiency light fittings, including switching and zoning to allow more flexibility and control of lighting
• Natural lighting in 30 per cent of foyer in office areas
• Chilled beams in library
• High performance glass to reduce heat gain in internal spaces
Enhancing indoor air quality:
• Carbon dioxide monitoring in the Theatre, Concert Hall, Civic Pavilion and Studio ensures the rooms have enough natural air ventilation.
• Low VOC, or no VOC where possible, in internal finishes
• Finishes such as carpet, timber and other furnishings sourced from sustainable suppliers.
Recycling materials and waste:
• 85 per cent of construction waste has been recycled.
• Recycled timber has been used where possible.
• Dedicated storage areas for the collection, separation and recycling of consumables
Tags
Urban Design
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