VISION 35— NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
An imaginative glazing program
can elevate good to great and this is
precisely the result at Melbourne’s
Point Cook, Saltwater Community
Centre. Organic design needn’t result in
undisciplined beige. At its best, it brings
the stars into alignment and offers
a range of beautiful spaces housed
within a credible whole.
S
uch a facility might appear small fry in the grand
scheme of a city bursting at the seams, but it offers
a real alternative to malls, pubs and gaming venues.
At their best, community centres build pride of place.
They are a great glue for new and young families hungry
for information, sharing successes and calming anxieties.
It’s why Croxon Ramsay’s design is such an important
statement. The result is a low-rise invitation not about
‘us’ and ‘them’ but ‘we’. A finely scaled design strategy
incorporating elegantly tuned Viridian glazing, helps
ensure an inclusive, welcoming approach.
With a population of around 500 air-force base residents
in 1996, Point Cook’s numbers jumped to 14,000 by 2006
and today is rapidly heading north of 40,000. With jobs
and growth pushing the suburban envelope new suburbs
however are much more than about housing. They require
infrastructure and all of the crucial support elements to
contribute to the magic ‘L’ word ‘livability’.
Wyndham City Council’s Saltwater Community Centre is in
many ways a ‘pilot case’ for the council and municipality,
departing well and truly from the stereotype.
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