Woodcroft Neighbourhood Centre

Its rolling roofline signals a new wave of community-focused facilities in the Western Sydney city of Blacktown. Woodcroft Neighbourhood Centre delivers more than a functional sport and recreation hall. The Council’s community outreach showed strong local attachment to Woodcroft Lake as a recreational area, so the Centre embraces the lake and park with an uplifting architectural form.

Information

Client Blacktown City Council
Location Woodcroft, NSW - Traditional Custodians: Darug Peoples
Size (m2) 600
Completion 2019

Our Team

Shaun Carter
Ben Peake
Lisa Merkesteyn
Julie Niass
Tai Danh Lien

Collaborators

Landscape Architecture Melissa Wilson Landscape Architect
Structural Engineering Cantilever Consulting Engineers
Civil & Electrical Engineering WGE
Mechanical Engineering Arim Consulting
Hydraulic Engineering Scott Collis
Acoustic Engineering Acoustic Consulting Engineers
NCC Credwell Consulting
Traffic TTPP
Construction Westbury Constructions
Photography Brett Boardman
Videography Alex Niass

Awards

Good Design Award, Commercial and Residential Gold
Sydney Design Award, Public and Institutional Gold
Fielders Made Design Awards, Roofing and Walling Winner
GOV Design Awards, Community and Civic Architecture Silver
NSW Architecture Awards, Public Architecture Shortlist
NSW Architecture Awards, Colorbond Award For Steel Architecture Shortlist
NSW Architecture Awards, Interior Architecture Shortlist
Sustainability Awards, Urban and Landscape Shortlist
Australian Interior Design Awards, Public Shortlist
INDE. Awards, The Social Space Shortlist
NSW/ACT Steel Excellence Awards, Small Projects Shortlist
IDEA Awards, Public Space Shortlist
UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence, Social and Community Infrastructure Shortlist
Urban Developer Awards, Development of the Year, Social Infrastructure Shortlist
IPWEA (NSW) Engineering Excellence Award for Multi-Disciplinary Project Management Winner
NSW Architecture Awards, Interior Architecture Shortlist
NSW Institute of Public Works, Engineering Excellence Award Winner

A civic building to instil community pride and bring people together for sport, family and community functions, and shared cultural expression.

Watch

A government-funded project, Woodcroft Neighbourhood Centre is designed to work at many scales and serve different user groups, from 1-on-1 counselling in the community room to functions or games for 200-plus people in the main hall, as well as the 2,000-plus people who gather on the nearby green commons for the annual Woodcroft festival. Three core zones gather under the signature serpentine roof with offices, internal courtyard and community room aligned towards the street, while the main hall opens to Woodcroft Lake and the tall central foyer connects them. Brick construction references the site’s history as a former brickyard, while the timber linings and steel roofline represent an investment in enduring quality.

By night, the roofline is expressed by the warm white glow of its opalescent polycarbonate apron, tracing the squiggly line.

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