VISION 47 — HIGH MARKS
Vision’s Peter Hyatt spoke with JMA Architect’s
Bobbie Braun about a project that delivers a
big-picture result on a keenly competitive budget:
VISION This has apparently been a long-time in
the making?
BOBBIE BRAUN The club first applied for funding in 2008
and we picked up the project in 2013. It had many starts
and stops due to funding, so it is quite exciting to see
it finally over the line.
What is the real success of this project for your practice?
Getting multiple bodies on board and satisfying
everyone’s needs. Six stakeholders were involved and
we really worked hard through several iterations to
get it just right. We approached it like a Venn diagram
with each stakeholder having a sphere of their own
requirements and finding that perfect centre point
where they all overlap.
Every architectural type has its own particular issues.
What tested the design/construct group here?
Well, there were several. The site itself is unusual.
It’s quite long and narrow and bound by a river at the
back with the oval at the front. Some cricket nets to the
east are retained with a road to the west. Those things
led to a very long and narrow building. Fitting in change
rooms, amenities, coaches boxes, social room, that sort
of thing, into the form was quite challenging but I like to
think that we got there in the end.