South Sydney Youth Services Centre

View towards foyer from the skateboard park.

Project details

• Project Name: South Sydney Youth Services Centre
• Location of Site: Waterloo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• Design Team: Matt Day, Rikke Bukh
• Project Type: Public building, youth centre
• Client: City of Sydney Council

Words from the architect

The project was an invited competition for an upgrade of an existing building. The brief was for a youth centre with consultation rooms for troubled youths to seek help and advice.

View towards entry.

Architecture can be romantic, it can be monumental, but above all things it should be humanistic. A youth centre should epitomize humanism and warmth, a welcoming hand to greet those in need, a hearth to feel at home to express ones inner concerns.

In other words to create a living room for those who often do not have one.

Passive environmental systems incorporated into the design include, orientating the building to the north for the best possible solar penetration in winter, whilst sun shading protects the building from overheating in summer. Roof insulation in the form of a green roof will reduce heat gain from the roof in summer and retain internal heat in winter. The skylight and wndows are operable in order to naturally ventilate the building, using the 'stack effect'.

Looking out from the foyer.

The building expresses itself as a combination of 3 complimentary materials, brick, timer and concrete.

A building of architectural contrasts between open and closed facades, wall and column.

The proposal includes retaining and reusing the existing brick. The brick is to be bag-rendered with a limewash. This will provide a subtle removal of the strong brick pattern and disguise the 1960's inferior brick quality, and patching to the facade.

Typical office space.

Internally the doors and foyer ceiling are white stained birch ply. The floors are polished white concrete, to the foyer and white stained timer to the offices, meeting room, and consultation rooms.

The texture and colour will distinguish the building from its surroundings as a building of importance, whilst at the same time, in keeping with, the predominant brick context of the neighbouring buildings. The off-white colour will give the building a contemporary, welcoming feel, it's rough texture changing in the varying light.

Plan.

The building contains a meeting room, offices, and consultation rooms organized around a central foyer, a living room.

The foyer takes advantage of its northern orientation, the most ideal orientation for passive solar design and is also lit from above by skylights.

In addition the foyer offers views out to the skateboard park, a great hub of activity and something to watch whilst relaxing. The foyer contains the kitchenette, photocopier niche, and cupboards for storage.

Section 1.

The 4 offices are arranged to the south and east of the foyer. Their doors can be opened or closed depending on the need for privacy or supervision. Each office has a view out to the park and a skylight over the door to provide as much natural light and ventilation as possible. There are 3 consultation rooms, 2 internal and one external on the roof. The roof consultation space offers long distant views and a special private domain.

Section 2.

Credits

• Text and images: Day Bukh Architects