Making Waves on Sydney’s Northern Beaches Warren and Mahoney Principal Architect, Daryl Maguire, shares how the Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club is set to offer community and life saving facilities ith construction now underway, the new Mona Value Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) on Sydney’s Northern Beaches W expects to be operational and ready by late summer. Architects Warren and Mahoney say the redevelopment of the existing club presented a unique opportunity to provide both a world-class building to meet the needs of its existing occupants, while also offering up some dynamic new social spaces to the broader community. Warren and Mahoney Principal, Sven Ollmann explains “Sydney’s Northern Beaches is an area with a distinct local identity, deeply tied to its physical surroundings. Surf Life Saving Clubs play a central role in community life, providing social gathering places as well as Surf Life Saving operations. “In designing a new facility for the Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club, we knew that community buy-in and ownership of the project would be vital. The new building needed to meet all the practical requirements, be flexible for a wide range of uses and be a focus for community pride.
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“By drawing the community, the park and the beach together, the new facility will continue to support an important safety and community service whilst also being more inclusive and offering new function areas to enhance leisure activities and generate revenue for the Club.” Working group engagement with members of both the community and club enabled Warren and Mahoney to analyse and understand the inner workings of the organisation alongside the myriad needs of locals. The new development has been funded by the Northern Beaches Council, the NSW Government - Stronger Communities Fund and the Mona Vale SLSC, with construction led by the Council’s Capital Projects department. It includes surf life saving facilities, a large storage area, a gym and change facilities for members, a family change room, an accessibility toilet, disabled adult change room, a café, restaurant, function room and a members’ bar and lounge. Facilities are family-friendly, with spaces and amenities to cater to all generations of lifesavers, from nippers in training to retirees. Particular consideration was given to welcoming migrant communities, who are a principal target for water safety campaigns. The building is open and active on all sides, with a cafe at ground level and sightlines through to the water, linking park and beach. Materials including timber and textured raw concrete were chosen to reflect the natural environment and withstand exposure to the elements. Elevated glass pavilions house a restaurant, lounge bar and function room, angled to capture the spectacular views and outstanding natural beauty of beach, headlands and park. A separate amenities and public change facility situated alongside the Club has also been built for use for the significant number of public bathers using the pool or sea. Ollman advises “our design narrative was built around several key pillars of inspiration.
