Coogee SLSC awarded by International Olympic and Paralympic Committees

by Allen Jack+Cottier

Changing the way people live, work and play, Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C) is a Sydney-based practice for architecture, urban design and interiors. Over six decades the practice has created some of Australia’s most innovative, celebrated and sustainable environments in sport, education housing, community and urban design.

THE ICONIC BRONZED AUSSIE LIFESAVER IMAGE IS CHANGING

We’re incredibly proud to share the news that Coogee SLSC has won the IPC/IAKS Distinction for Accessibility at the 2021 IOC IPC IAKS Architecture Prizes in Cologne, Germany.

A hub for community in Sydney’s southeast, Coogee SLSC is one of Australia’s oldest surf lifesaving clubs, patrolling a beach of over 4 million visits each year. It reopened in December 2020 after a transformative redesign of the club house following its severe storm-damage in 2016. In collaboration with Randwick City Council and Coogee SLSC, Allen Jack +Cottier Architects (AJ+C) redesigned the club house, expanding its teaching and events facilities to greatly improve the Club’s capacity to train new life savers, patrol the beach and generate revenue for its vital work.

Design of the now single-level club house, with a new lens-like view to the beach, and elevator to all levels, created all-ability access for the first time in Club history, enabling people with different physical abilities to become surf lifesavers at Coogee. It’s been so successful, that it will soon be a pilot site for other surf lifesaving clubs becoming more inclusive.

It’s especially gratifying for AJ+C, having previously received a Silver Medal at the IOC IPC IAKS Architecture Prizes (2013) for Milson Island Sports & Recreation Centre.

These awards recognise excellence in the design and operation of fully inclusive and universally accessible indoor and outdoor facilities and are organised jointly by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS).

An official awards ceremony took place in Cologne/Germany, at the international IAKS Congress and FSB trade show.

“It’s humbling and gratifying to be recognised by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees and IAKS for this project, which has been a labour of love for so many. Redesigning the Coogee SLSC was about so much more than repairing and extending the building. Its transformation not only secures the Club’s financial future with peerless new facilities, it’s also opened new pathways for people of all abilities to become surf lifesavers. I can’t think of a greater community legacy than breaking down barriers to inclusion.” — Michael Heenan, Director & CEO, AJ+C Architects

ABOUT THE COOGEE SLSC PROJECT

In collaboration with Randwick City Council and Coogee SLSC, Allen Jack +Cottier Architects (AJ+C) redesigned the club house, expanding its teaching and events facilities to greatly improve the Club’s capacity to train new life savers, patrol the beach and generate revenue for its vital work.

Revitalising an icon

For over a century, Coogee SLSC has patrolled the beach, trained an army of volunteer lifesavers and been a community hub for schools and scouts, sports events and local celebrations, all based around this building. Today Coogee Beach attracts around 4 million visitors a year.

Built in 1907 at the southern tip of Coogee Beach, the original masonry club house had been extended over time and in 2016, critically damaged during a major storm event.

Council’s brief to AJ+C included a focus on youth life saver training, with innovative facilities and flexible spaces for use by different groups concurrently. The sea wall was repaired and the top (street) level redesigned to create a flexible main training/function room with increased capacity and dramatic new sight-lines to the beach, all while keeping within the existing building footprint. The iconic swimmer’s clock and classical-style portico have also been restored.

Future-focused facilities

The new interior solves critical access, capacity, and operational issues by replanning the space and relocating ‘back-of-house’ services from north to south within the building. A new commercial kitchen for catering, full-service bar, storage and offices now occupy the southern wing, leaving a central open room that increases capacity from 60 to 200 people, and delivers dramatic new views north to the beach, east to the ocean.

The previously pigeon-holed northern wall is now a large window wall, dramatically framing a view of Coogee Beach. Importantly, a new platform elevator from the street entry gives the club house full wheelchair access for the first time.

Services have been gathered up into a 35-metre joinery wall along the western perimeter. Pivoting plywood panels conceal two serving stations, storage rooms, WCs, AV technology and egress doors. They also conceal three stacked bays of acoustically-rated retractable walls that partition the open space into four smaller rooms accommodating multiple user groups at once.

The only visible service area is the main bar, featuring mirrorbacked glass shelves, an island counter in white Corian and a contemporary chandelier by Australian designer Ross Gardam. Materials and finishes throughout the space echo the coastal location. The birch plywood panelling lends a warm sand tone against the charcoal of carpet and tiles and sky blue of the retractable walls. Club memorabilia, artefacts and honour boards have been integrated in the interior, and the Club colours are expressed in the entry mosaic-tiled and a new Club logo and roundel.

“Redeveloping this Club house was a very big dream of ours. The biggest design move was creating a new sightline to the sand with a wall of windows, which we made overt by framing it like a camera. With all its windows and doors open, the top floor becomes a veranda, with views to both beach and ocean.” – Michael Heenan, CEO, Principal Design AJ+C

Externally the changes include a new verandah off the east elevation offering a wide ocean deck with views north and south to the beach and cliffs. The repaired sea wall is extended to improve access around the building base. The building façade combines durable materials of varying textures and types: zinc cladding to the north façade highlights the beach-facing ‘camera lens’, while a curved wall of blue-and-white mosaic tiles distinguishes the street entry in Club colours. The restored clock has been reinstated to the new north facade.

“The clock is critical. It was donated to the Club years ago and has a very sophisticated mechanism. It’s the clearest surf clock anywhere on the coast, and locally famous because you can see it even when you’re swimming quite far out. It’s special to me because I swim this bay every morning.” –Michael Heenan, CEO, Principal Design AJ+C

Accessible and Inclusive

A critical reform is the new platform elevator from street entry to all levels, giving the Club house wheelchair access for the first time. The new sight-lines to the beach from the north window and east balcony offer another Club milestone, now enabling people with physical disabilities to become life savers and participate in patrols, and be in radio contact from the Club house to life savers on the sand. Coogee SLSC is set to become the pilot site for a state-wide initiative training surf life savers of different abilities for other clubs around New South Wales.

Sustainable

Key to the sustainability strategy was retaining as much of the existing building as possible including the brick base and external walls. For operational sustainability there are: rooftop solar panels to provide power; low-E glass to reduce heat intake; fully operable doors and windows to deliver natural ventilation; water and energyefficient fixtures and appliances.

“After nine months, with the scaffolding now down and the rebuilt Club visible, we couldn’t be more delighted with the design by AJ+C. This is an iconic new clubhouse for a new generation.” Mark Doepel and Tony Waller, Coogee SLSC

Key features

• Increased capacity of training/function room from 60 to 200 people.

• Acoustically rated operable interior walls dividing the space into separate rooms.

• Integrated AV technology for training.

• A 35-metre wall of joinery concealing storage, bathrooms and acoustic walls.

• Platform elevator for wheelchair access to all levels.

• New north window wall and east-facing verandah for breathtaking beach and ocean views.

A community base for:

• Over 620 trained volunteer surf life savers.

• Coogee Minnows - Australia’s longest continually running junior life saving club.

• Autism Swim Dippers program, for children with other abilities

• Annual Coogee Island Swim events (April & November)

• Special events venue: weddings, wakes, parties, corporate training etc.

• ANZAC Day memorial service, attended by around 15,000 people annually.