VICTORIAN PRIDE CENTRE

A new Melbourne landmark: St Kilda’s Victorian Pride Centre

Hansen Yuncken working to foster

Janice Mascini Special Contributor

Melbourne will have plenty to celebrate with the opening of the purpose-built Victorian Pride Centre anticipated for December 2020. This new state-of-the-art centre located on the corner of Jackson and Fitzroy Streets, St Kilda will provide an inclusive and vibrant LGBTIQ community hub that will enable the public, community groups and LGBTIQ organisations to come together. It will be home to many important services including mental and physical health care, especially for young people; it will host a lively event space, with a function area on the rooftop having uninterrupted views of Melbourne, the bay and bayside suburbs. Tenants currently include JOY-FM, Minus18, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Star Health, Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives, Thorne Harbour Health, Australian CLBTIQ Multicultural Council and Switchboard with plenty more set to come on board before the years’ end. Built by Hansen Yuncken for the Victorian Pride Centre, the bespoke building has four levels, with 6000sqm of floor space. The design by BAU-GAA JV Partnership was the winning entry in a competition.

strong community connections

The project began about 14 months ago and was launched with an indigenous smoking ceremony performed by the Boon Wurrung Foundation, where native plants were burned and made to smoulder with the belief the smoke wards off bad spirits. Among the attendees were leaders from the project, the LGBTIQ community, health and community services, the Lord Mayors of Port Phillip and Stonnington and Mr Martin Foley, the Victorian Minister for Equality, Mental Health and Creative Industries.

Unique design features

There are many design features integrated into the building with stunning curves and shapes with sculptured pre-cast panels, circular and elliptical windows, and an atrium that displays an enormous, distinctive, sculptured eggshell spanning across four levels from the ground floor to the roof. The egg was inspired by the emu egg to celebrate the First Nations Indigenous people and history of the area. Hansen Yuncken operations manager Brian McAdam describes the rear of the building on Jackson Street as sculpted like an umbrella, with peaks and troughs. “There were some interesting challenges in bringing the design to fruition, particularly with the pressure equalisation of the circular windows and the pre-cast panels, each with individual features, which needed to be well thought out,” Mr McAdam said. “Of course, the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have, and continue to present

hurdles to overcome to ensure health and safety onsite remains paramount. However, we believe we’re on track to achieve the completion date. “Building the Victorian Pride Centre has all the key elements of a great project — it has an amazing design, its ethos of creating a building that is the heartbeat of the community aligns with our company values and we are working with a client who shares the same goals and focus,” Mr McAdam said. “The end result is a quality building that is distinct and memorable and is sure to boost renewal in the Fitzroy Street precinct, become an impressive Melbourne

The end result is a quality building that is distinct and memorable and is sure to boost renewal in the Fitzroy Street precinct, become an impressive “ Melbourne landmark and, most importantly, connect and support the LGBTIQ community.” Hansen Yuncken Operations Manager Brian McAdam

landmark and, most importantly, connect and support the LGBTIQ community.”

If you have a community project or a building with a special story that you would like to feature in a future issue of Master Builder magazine, please email Peter Sackett psackett@mbav.com.au or phone on (03) 9411 4555.

About Hansen Yuncken

In 1918, Lauritz Hansen and Otto Yuncken started a partnership based on a handshake and a one-page agreement. Today, Hansen Yuncken is responsible for thousands of projects, including some of Australia’s most iconic buildings and employs over 600 staff across nine offices with an annual turnover exceeding $1 billion.