Victoria
Glenroy Community Hub, Australia’s first Passive House certified community building, provides the City of Merri-Bek community with a welcoming, nature-inspired environment to learn, grow, celebrate, and heal. DesignInc envisaged the project as an opportunity to imagine what a new model community building might be and do.
Framed as a ‘social connector’, the Hub’s library is co-located with Glenroy Memorial Kindergarten, Maternal Child Health, neighbourhood learning, community health and childcare services. Nature has informed every design choice to infuse biophilic qualities into the Hub and make meaningful, restorative, and uplifting connections with the natural world. Under one roof in a parkland location, the Hub provides a range of family and children’s services to support, inspire and connect people.
It is hoped that over time, the entire community and individual residents will benefit as Glenroy’s new heart fosters a healthier, more equitable and cohesive neighbourhood.
Embraced by the diverse user groups, this community centre is celebrated. Integrating a certified Passivhaus approach and exposed timber structure, it offers a place of refuge with improved social outcomes.
The jury found the project to be incredibly thorough, maximising technical aspects and resulting in a high-performance building that will generate more energy than it uses. Living Building Challenge principles elevate the project to express leadership in sustainable architecture and an educative role through integrating extensive QR code signage.
Glenroy Community Hub is a major community infrastructure project with high expectations from Councillors and community. The project’s unique sustainable and biophilic design has exceeded our best hopes and those of key stakeholders. Central to this outcome are the high professional standards, depth of experience, and passion that DesignInc brought to the project.
Importantly, their patient commitment to collaboration with building users is a critical success factor. With multiple stakeholders involved, the collaborative approach of Kieran Leong and his co-designers is especially highly valued. They listen carefully, responding in a timely and creative way with practical and beautiful design solutions.
Ashwin Murari, Project Architect
Bohemia Hookham, Project Architect
Jordan Stones, Graduate of Architecture
Katie Maclennan, Interior Designer
Kieran Leong, Design Architect
Megan Andrews, Interior Designer
Michelle Harris, Project Architect
Stephen Webb, Design Architect
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
