Heart of the Community

Daryl Maguire says Oran Park’s integrated leisure centre brings people together in vibrant public spaces, transforming the outer edges of suburban Sydney into a true community

With construction now underway a new aquatic and sport centre in Camden. 65 kilometres to the southwest of central Sydney has presented a ‘once-in-ageneration’ opportunity to re-define the heart of the community’s civic precinct.

This historic part of NSW, formerly farmland, will be transformed into a new-look community hub for its local populous, which includes many first-time home owners and young families.

Warren and Mahoney (W+M), won a highly competitive tender with a unifying ‘whole-of-precinct’ concept to integrate the newly built spaces adjacent to the Civic Centre and other public outdoor spaces.

The design was guided by the principles of urban connection with a theme of ‘Sports on Display’ - as it sought to create one active meeting point for the community. W+M’s recent experience designing the benchmark 6 Star Green Star Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre in suburban Melbourne, was invaluable for this project, allowing the practice to fold-in critical operational and sustainability insights.

A Unique Location The uniqueness of Oran Park’s new development is that it locates three major sports functions right in the town centre alongside the administrative functions of the Civic Centre - putting ‘Sport on Display’ and promoting a community focus on being active.

The new Oran Park Leisure Centre is intentionally designed to complete the Civic Cluster by connecting seamlessly to the Council Administration Building and Public Library to form a complete hub for locals. To achieve this, the new facility intentionally frames the Civic Plaza, making this a sheltered and successful place for public gathering and celebration.

The Centre includes a new 50 metre indoor pool and family pool for the swimmers; indoor courts for the ball players; and, a gymnasium with group fitness spaces - all within the heart of Camden.

A café and gym retail facility will also support the experience and provide a point of connection with others in the community.

Advising that high-profile town centre location is what sets this project apart, W+M Principal, Sven Ollmann states “it raises the profile of the Leisure Centre and reflects the priority Camden Council has placed on encouraging physical activity among its constituents.

“And, not to leave the importance of local culture behind, we’ll also be incorporating a major piece of art in the landscape, created by Greg Johns.”

Ollman says the design of the 50 metre pool and playing courts are fairly pragmatic and the architecture in these spaces reflects that, adding “we’ve used more organic shapes in other parts of the centre to mirror more casual use - such as the Family Pool. By connecting the ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ sports halls internally, the Leisure Centre will also provide opportunities for the different codes to connect.

“The design is open to visually connecting the aquatics hall with the ball courts, so it is possible to engage the widest group of people within an interconnected facility and encourage the cross-pollination of users.”

Creating Connectivity W+M Associate and Senior Interior Designer, David Hoad, says the W+M team started by defining an attitude for the interior of

Concepts for the new Oran Park Leisure Centre. Credit: Warren and Mahoney/Camden Council.

‘open for all’, noting “a strong theme that came directly from consulting with the stakeholder group is that Oran Park is open for people of all backgrounds and physical capability (which) has been realised by three core design pillars of Inclusivity, Placemaking and Family-orientated. And when overlayed onto the architectural response this manifested as the ‘Pulsing Heart’ as our big idea for the interior layout.

“With focus on the foyer as the centre point. This ‘heart’ becomes a collision of social activity, an inclusive connector where the circulation arteries push and pull the public through one space to their intended sporting activity.

“And with so many activities alongside each other, intuitive wayfinding was important - specifically with the identification of the main entry.”

Here Hoad advises “we’ve aimed for a great sense of internal interconnectivity and that organic architectural journey flows into the street front architecture and Civic Square to create a warm, welcoming feel.

“We have sought to ensure the entry point is easily defined by the architectural forms rather than relying on any signage or awnings. Similarly, the reception desk will be easily identified from the front door, with obvious visual links inside for patrons to find the three main offerings of the new Leisure Centre.

“The organic forms that intersect within the foyer are further enhanced with the application of materials, gestural to act as intuitive wayfinding, soft edges and fluid delineation to remove a sense of boundaries and act as an invitation to explore. Welcoming and ultimately giving the community a sense of ownership of the space.

“Colour theory was also introduced and responded to each sport zone. Reflecting the energy of each type of sport activity, with ‘Moments of intensity’ to inject vibrancy and personality.

“We also put lots of consideration into longevity on the knowledge that this building will be part of the community for a long time. Becoming multi-generational, a grounded space that will be enduring and feel ‘familiar’ to the public, comfortable and reflecting their identity.

“The sporting facilities are easily seen from the Civic Plaza, pedestrians paths and streets to create that sense of connection right across the community services.”

Resource Management Ollmann says the design has placed priority on making the most of natural daylighting to all areas of the facility on the recognition that natural light promotes a healthier environment and is fundamental to our experience of a space, adding “as such, we have integrated natural light through all facades and various skylights using ETFE- a durable, highly transparent, more sustainable and a lightweight alternative to glass.

“By setting out rigorous structural grids, using prefabricated modular construction and minimising unnecessary architectural complexity, the design delivers a cost effective and efficient structure without compromising architectural quality. Our approach was to prioritise ‘quality over complexity’.”

Ollmann cites sustainability is the most important issue of our time and believes public buildings which do not respond to the current crisis run the risk of long-term irrelevance, going on to say “we have designed a responsible building that can anticipate the near-term future expectations users and ratepayers will place on these community buildings.”

Key initiatives include 300Kw of photovoltaic solar panels and best practice mechanical design, with Ollmann concluding “a commitment to energy efficiency and the use of low maintenance natural materials resonates with the sentiments of the local Camden community and reflects a wholly humancentred design approach.

“This considerate design, resource efficiency, accessibility and connectivity will certainly help the people of Camden experience a thriving, sport-led community centre.” Daryl Maguire is a Principal at international architects Warren and Mahoney (W+M).