2013 National Architecture Awards: Sustainable

Jury citation

The refurbishment of an existing building, with a robust and pragmatic approach to materials, maintenance and longevity, provides the Waterloo Youth Family Community Centre with an excellent start to sustainable practice. The use of recycled materials and LED lighting, in combination with water harvesting, supports low energy use in construction and life cycle.

Where steel is used, it is understood separately from the main body of the building for simple demounting or relocation. This steel structure provides shading and a substructure for planting that further shades the building while also making vandalism difficult. This strategy is well employed to form the expression and identity of the building.

Internal comfort is passively controlled using natural ventilation, exposed thermal mass and an insulated building envelope shaded by the steel canopy structure and planting. The environmental strategies are integral to the performance, appearance and logic of the building, which itself contributes significantly to the social sustainability of the community and place.

Read the project review by Olivia Hyde for Architecture Australia.