ROBINVALE COLLEGE COMMUNITY HUB
Regional Development Victoria partnered with Swan Hill Rural City Council, Robinvale College, and the Victorian School Building Authority to provide the community of Robinvale with a new static library facility & multi-service community hub on the grounds of Robinvale College, replacing the fortnightly community library bus service
Client
Regional Development Victoria, Swan Hill Rural City Council, Victorian School Building Authority
Completed
2021
Project Type
Community & Worship
Connecting a diverse community
Robinvale is one of the most culturally diverse communities in Australia. In addition to its permanent residents that include a large Indigenous population, there is a significant fluctuating population of seasonal workers. It was imperative that the Community Hub be inclusive of the town’s multicultural community and offer a place where people of all ages and backgrounds come to connect, share, and learn.
Throughout all design phases of the project, collaboration with multiple stakeholders was undertaken. Along with the VSBA, Swan Hill Rural City Council, Regional Development Victoria, and the Colman Foundation all had significant input into establishing a return brief and ensuring that the proposed design aligned with the goals of the project. Community surveys were undertaken, information sessions were held, and the local indigenous community were addressed directly with workshop presentations.
A diverse range of spaces were incorporated into the design to enable flexible usage. Three sculptural plywood joinery elements–a book display unit, a librarian’s desk, and a tiered seating/hot-desking unit–are strategically placed to help delineate zones within the library. Branching off the central library area are a variety of spaces, from collaborative spaces to enclosed discussion rooms to pods and carrels for quiet study and reflection. The result is a state-of-the-art library and Community Hub that meet the diverse needs of both the school and community into the future.
Flexibility in use
Revitalising ageing infrastructure
Rather than demolishing the existing Multipurpose Hall to build a completely new facility, a surgical demolition of the Hall allowed much of the structure and external shell to be retained, with bricks salvaged from the demolition works further recycled into outdoor pavers, significantly reducing the project’s embodied carbon. New metal cladding and brickwork form a graphic, sawtooth gable pattern on the street frontage, projecting a welcoming image to the public whilst reducing visual bulk. New lightweight steel pergolas further extend the gabled forms into the surrounding landscape and define external breakout and café spaces.
The column-free Multipurpose Hall interior was transformed into an open plan library space, where a pleated acoustic ceiling expresses the external gable motif internally. New double glazed openings punched into the walls turn a formerly dim, insular space into an airy and bright one with ample visual connections to the outdoors.
KDA Team
Claire Carson, Allison Jessup, Dominic On
Acknowledgements
Photographer
Shayne Hill