COMMENDATION FOR HERITAGE
CERBERUS AND GEELONG HOUSES HMAS CRESWELL
BVN ARCHITECTURE
CATEGORY: HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE
HMAS Creswell is a beautifully sited and configured naval installation, elevated on a bluff overlooking Jervis Bay. The central historic group of buildings is arranged around the expansive quarterdeck parade ground. Today this dramatic level green is home equally to sporty sailors and herds of grazing kangaroos.
The south side of the green was originally framed by a symmetrical pair of timber clad buildings constructed in 1915 and known as Cerberus and Geelong House. Geelong House was demolished in 1980 and Cerberus was decommissioned in 1990. Spurred by a new-found interest by the Navy for heritage places, the decision was made in 2006 to renew the buildings.
The architects have pursued a different approach to each challenge. Using exemplary conservation techniques, Cerberus House has been carefully restored as offices and common rooms, while a new building has reinstated the frontage, scale and arrangement of Geelong House. The architects have skilfully accommodated a new program for the new Geelong House, which included a large auditorium, and they have interpreted the materials and elements of the original in a contemporary idiom.
This is a mature, deferential project, concerned more about place and cultural continuity than the heroic architectural statement. The architects are to be commended for their sensitive and understated intervention, which has restored the form and fabric of Cerberus and Geelong House, and in so doing has reinstated the dignity of the quarterdeck parade ground.
PROJECT TEAM
Architect/Practice: BVN Architecture
Practice Team: Sarah Embling (Project Team Leader), Abbie Galvin (Project Principal), Christian Wild (Project Director) Marco Montevecchi (Project Team), Olivia Hyde (Project Team), Craig Burns (Project Team), Geoff Cooke (Project Team), Susanne Mayer (Project Team), Genevieve Blanchett (Project Team), Kim Humphries (Specification)
Consultant Team: TTW (Structural Consultant), Acor (Civil/ Hydraulic Consultant), AECOM (Electrical/ Mechanical/ Acoustic/ Communications Consultant), Wilde and Woolard (Cost Consultant), Arup (Fire Engineer), Gardener Group (BCA), EcoLogical (Bushfire Consultant)
Construction Team: Hansen Yunken (Managing Contractor)
Photographer: John Gollings
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