Waterloo Oval Youth Facility

Invited competition for an upgrade to an existing youth facility in Waterloo, Sydney 2008.

Location: Waterloo. Sydney
Architect: Day Bukh Architects
Client: City of Sydney Council
Year: Completion 2008
Cost: $900,000 AUD

a humanistic youth centre

Architecture can be romantic, it can be monumental, but above all things, it should be humanistic. A youth centre should epitomise humanism and warmth, a welcoming hand to greet those in need, a hearth to feel at home to express ones inner concerns. Central to the proposal is creating this room. A room that you want to be in. A room that contains an equal amount of refuge and prospect.

“We had one favourite spot, deep in moss and last year’s leaves, where there were some felled trees from which the bark was all stripped off. Seated among these we looked through a green vista supported by thousands of natural columns, the whitened stems of trees, upon a distant prospect made so radiant by its contrast with the shade in which we sat, and made so precious by the arched perspective through which we saw it, that it was like a glimpse of the better land.” - Charles Dickens’ ‘Bleak House.’

materials and architectural expression

The building expresses itself as a combination of three complimentary materials, brick, timber and concrete. A building of architectural contrasts between open and closed facades, wall and column. External vertical battens mounted to the façade with growing vines could provide a green alternative that would prohibit graffiti. Both ideas are illustrated on the perspectives. The interior foyer walls have the same texture and colour as the external walls there by bringing the outside in, connecting this space to the park and the north. The skylight helps to transform this room into a pavilion in the park. The timber ceiling of the foyer is proposed to be white oil stained plywood, patterns of aboriginal artwork could be laser cut into the plywood. The interior offices and consultation rooms consist of off-white rendered walls, a white plasterboard ceiling, and timber floors. They should be welcoming and lived in. The large meeting room has two large saw tooth skylights reminiscent of the neighbouring industrial buildings. The stair tower of brick provides access up to the timber deck terrace and garden. A little consultation space up in the trees.

spatial organisation of the youth centre

The meeting room, offices and consultation rooms are organised around a central foyer, a living room. This foyer takes advantage of its northern orientation and offers views out to the skateboard park, a great hub of activity and something to watch whilst relaxing.

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