Village Mona Vale Civic Centre and Library

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Village Mona Vale Civic Centre and Library0

Village Mona Vale Civic Centre and Library1

Village Mona Vale Civic Centre and Library2




The common conception of libraries is that of warm, cosy and quiet nooks where readers can sit undisturbed for hours on end, engaged not in the activities of this world, but in those which unfold in the pages before them. With the new Mona Vale Civic Centre and Town Library, however, Brewster Hjorth Architects were required to negotiate this concept with a very different one, for the Centre was to serve as the heart of the community, a place of interaction and involvement, not isolation.

Not just a library, the centre is also the new home for Pittwater Council- a refurbished and refitted space for the Council Customer Service Centre, Meeting Room, and Offices for Planning and Compliance officers. Accompanying the refurbishment of the existing buildings came the birth of a number of refreshingly new spaces. The library, an outdoor café, a parkland amphitheatre, an early childhood centre and an integrated pedestrian path linking the two halves of the village have all provided a refreshed civic focus for the Mona Vale Village, in keeping with the aim of its inception.

The adjacent parkland played an integral role in determining the form and structure of the library, which was to be constructed below it- an underground, earth-sheltered structure. It was conceived as two opposing curved pavilions, arranged around and linked by a central sunken garden between the two halves of the building. The opening to this void is surrounded by a garden of ‘dune’ grasses on the plaza level, which defines the customer access as well as enclosing and containing the café. The curves of the two pavilions create the amphitheatre on the eastern side addressing the park and the curved line walkway on the western side, thus providing light and outlook as well as an external reading area for library users. This latter function was a direct response to the client’s brief.

The relationship between the site and its context that proved so influential on its form and structure also had non-material implications. It actually worked to define and refine its intended function. Because of its relationship to the park, the council desired maximum use of the outdoor public space, to make it the metaphorical as well as actual civic “centre”.

To this end, Brewster Hjorth blurred the distinction between inside and outside by large glass windows that accompany the reading and studying areas. These intimate internal spaces enjoy an external outlook and are brilliantly lit by natural light from the courtyard and the long curved lantern that encloses the main entry ramp. Casual arrangements of outdoor furniture beneath these windows imbue the area with a relaxed, interactive, social atmosphere. The new café located on the plaza level further enlivens this shared pedestrian experience.

Furthermore, in the existing community hall, the eastern wall was replaced with a row of new glass doors to provide the hall with a spill out area along its long side, and to create a more connected space for community and public meetings. Principles of openness and interaction consistently defined the project at every level.

The new structure is entered via a wide, 25 metre long curved ramp, which not only provides public access but also gives a wide dramatic introduction to the open areas of the library. A curved glass lantern runs along the western perimeter of the library and encloses this ramp, defining the pedestrian walkway and utilising natural light. The ramp serves an integral function, as users are first introduced to the nature of the library by their procession down it.

Brewster Hjorth prides itself on its incorporation of various innovative and unique ESD initiatives that take advantage of the building’s location to dramatically cut energy use. Again, the underground form was influential. Preservation of the parkland was just one such advantage. The building’s immersion in soil created a high level of protection from the external environment, preventing transmission of excessive solar radiation during summer and heat loss in winter. When coupled with the high levels of thermal mass inherent in the structural design of the exposed concrete ceiling system, the building enjoys high thermal stability and avoids the effects of diurnal temperature fluctuations. This reduces reliance on artificial temperature control methods. To complement this, the largely consistent ground temperatures were utilised to provide ‘free’ cooling and heating. In an outdoor air tempering system, air is brought inside via an underground masonry duct along the building’s perimeter to naturally maintain comfort levels of its occupants. Consciousness of ongoing maintenance and running costs was determinative of the material selection. Finishes, fittings, lighting and building services were chosen accordingly.

In addition to their traditional roles, work by Brewster Hjorth Architects included design of special shelving, furniture, signage and graphics to create a completely integrated facility. Hence the new building visually and physically connects all the public facilities on the site and provides new important links which allows the village to operate as a unified whole. BHA believe that the public facilities now realise their full potential as a community focus for the village, for they have been successfully linked not only to the rest of the integrated complex, but have also linked that complex to the community at large.+

 

Top. The external architectural expression was derived from discussions with the original designer, Colin Madigan. The existing form is typical of its period - a sculpured arrangement of simple forms with high pitched roof sections terminating in dramatic half gables

Second.Brewster Hjorth designed special shelving, furniture, signage and graphics in addition to their traditional roles. This helped create a fully integrated and aesthetically consistent facility.

Third. The building form consists of two pavilions linked by this sunken garden which provides light and outlook to its inhabitants. The open courtyard below imbues the internal reading areas with brilliant natural light, challenging the perception of libraries as dark, forgotten nooks.

 

Photographer: Gerrit Fokkema