Boral Masonry - Centre attracts more than admiration
Designed as an iconic drawcard for the local community, this dynamic aquatic and leisure centre is attracting visitor numbers far exceeding original expectations.
Recreational facilities have come a long way from the days when an outdoor pool with an adjacent, shed-like structure housing a couple of basketball courts was considered adequate for a community’s needs. Nothing typifies this quantum leap better than Cardinia Life, a remarkable aquatic, sports and leisure complex located on the Princes Highway in Pakenham, south east of Melbourne.
The local Cardinia Shire Council’s brief was for an indoor, multipurpose centre that was cost effective, would appeal to a wide range of users, and be a drawcard for the community. Architects Suters Prior Chaney have responded to this brief in stunning fashion, designing an iconic complex that not only houses a comprehensive range of sporting and other facilities, but also attracts admiration for the way in which its sculptural form asserts itself on the landscape.
Connected to an already existing basketball stadium, the building takes the form of two barrel vaulted, curvilinear extrusions of steel and glass. Sections of the aluminium clad roof extend in unbroken curves to ground level, behind which expanses of glass allow natural light to flood into the interior. A more conventional element in brickwork links these two curved forms.
Walls enclosing the centre’s change rooms and plant areas required a material that was durable, low maintenance and long lasting. The wear and tear these areas were likely to sustain led to Boral’s Designer Block being incorporated into these sections of the complex.
The 400 square metres of Smooth Face Alabaster blocks and 200 square metres of Smooth Face Charcoal blocks were chosen for their inherent colours, attractive finish and compatibility with the other building materials used.
The change rooms and plant areas service a facility that houses an 8 lane 25 metre swimming pool, a multipurpose program pool used for both aquatic education and by those with disabilities, a children’s interactive pool, a gymnasium, four basketball courts, two multipurpose rooms, a cafe and associated administration offices.
Project architect Peter Smith from Suters Prior Chaney said that both they and their client were very happy with the $8 million project; the Cardinia Shire Council particularly so as patronage levels for all facilities at the centre are much higher than originally forecast.
21-Jan-2008