Meeniyan Community Hub | Public Realm Lab

Our brief was to deliver a new public toilet and meeting space that was sympathetic to Meeniyan’s character, not something imported from Melbourne. We realised that the site’s location (adjacent to the Town Hall, shops, kindergarten and on the main street) was its secret weapon and that our building needed to stitch together and strengthen Meeniyan, rather than ‘make its mark.’ The building was designed from the outside in: to tie into the verandahs and roofs of adjacent buildings; the formal and informal laneways that are the arteries of town; to create purpose-built infrastructure that will enable adjacent historic buildings to remain in use.  Once inside, it becomes clear that this is a plant-based building, built from carbon-sequestering hemp masonry. A vibrant colour scheme and innovative biomaterials reflect a forward-looking community, whilst sitting quietly in a historic street.