Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre Redevelopment

The adaptive reuse of the existing building presented a design challenge to maintain continuity of Council operations on site. A strategic approach was formulated by H2o to split the building into halves to allow decanting of staff and program as building works progressed. The design was carefully articulated to enable the separation and connection of the stages. In addition, retention of the existing building floor plates required a careful focus upon universal access due to site slope and lack of accessible vertical connections.

From the outset, Yarra Ranges Council’s focus upon ensuring the local community saw value for money in the completed project was foremost to the design process to ensure that inclusions were practical, modest and humble. A cost/benefit return model was maintained throughout the design phases to ensure that a high return for investment was achieved for the community. All design elements were tested for value, including façade elements, finishes, and fittings. This design process led to the creation of three flexible and reconfigurable multipurpose meeting spaces which can be combined via retractable operable walls. The Council Chamber is accommodated within the largest of the multipurpose spaces, with demountable tables for flexibility.

The context of the project within the township of Lilydale also informed the project design process. As an region of growth on the fringe of the Melbourne Metropolitan area, the local urban plan encourages the development of a second ‘main street’ to the township The public address and entries to site and building were repositioned in order to recognise the Civic Centre’s role as a core catalyst of this plan.
Equity of access was front of mind in the design process. Universal access accommodations are located centrally and are fully integrated. Non-gendered, parental care, and faith facilities are included to ensure diversity is supported and thrives.

The transformation of the former buildings into a revitalised holistic Civic Centre has been fully embraced by Council and the local community. Since its opening in 2022 during the shadows of the pandemic, the Civic Centre has become a vibrant place of work, community meeting and democracy.

The Activity Based Working model has been advantageous to enable an agile and scalable return to the workplace. The cultural and physical dividers between departments of staff have been dissolved with fantastic effect, supported by technology solutions, large breakout hubs and personal storage options. Significant attention was placed upon the design of the interiors to ensure excellence in the acoustic quality of the spaces. Acoustic linings with greater than 60% recycled content are used throughout provide acoustic absorption.

The generous stair and atrium skillfully carved within the centre of the building allows for view lines and clear circulation connection between all three levels. Located at the mid landing of the stair, the large central breakout hub is intentionally positioned as the heart of the workplace, and has become a vital culture building incubator. Likewise, the expansive rooftop deck constructed above the former library building provides an additional secure event and outdoor meeting space overlooking Lilydale Lake and Dandenongs.

The Civic Centre is a benchmark for sustainable and circular design due to it’s reduced environmental impact utilising adaptive reuse, while initiating new energy saving and generating programs.

The creative adaptive reuse of existing buildings is critical for our society to achieve its targets to avoid catastrophic climate change. The construction of new buildings is currently responsible for 13% of global CO2 emissions, and if the current trend is not addressed will only grow to be a greater proportion. While the retention of existing building fabric is more challenging than a new build, this challenge was embraced by H2o for the Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre. The resulting redevelopment retained 2,600m2 of existing floor area, with a volume of 1,300m3 of existing building material retained. The existing conditions were extensively analysed and combined with the brief to create a unique and revitalized place. The nature of the reused spaces created new opportunities, such as the extensive roof top deck above the existing library wing.

Informed by the existing conditions and the client’s brief, the Civic Centre uniquely draws from its ‘place’. The exterior and entry of the building reference the features of the local ecology, agriculture, and indigenous history of the area through the ochre tones and geological inspired forms of the façade paneling. The entry features an acknowledgement of country cast into its “foundation stone” to recognize the importance of the indigenous custodianship of the Yarra Ranges land. Likewise, interiors and finishes were inspired by the natural and cultural context. Occupant wellbeing is a key focus through the connection of the interiors to the landscape, natural conditions, and natural materials.

The public realm surrounding the building was modified to create inhabitable places for people and ceremony. Carparking that previous encompassed the building is replaced with a shared civic zone to the north and a ‘village green’ to the east to encourage staff to utilise the landscape.

Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre exemplifies it’s civic ambition as community ‘gathering place’, while expressing the personality and ideologies of it’s locale. The adaptive reuse of the existing building along with new sustainability initiatives allow the council to demonstrate it’s commitment to a sustainable future and assist the community to do the same. The sustainable design approach was wholistic, from considering retention of existing building embodied energy wherever possible, to low operational energy targets, to elimination of fossil fuel connection, to operational and furnishing targets for reducing waste and the reuse of existing equipment.

The activity based working environments of the Civic Centre have allowed Council to offer a diverse and supportive workplace with emphasis on culture building and employee wellbeing, two focuses that have been greatly appreciated by a team rebuilding post Covid. The inclusion of biophilic principals of natural light, natural ventilation and natural materials within the interiors has further enhanced occupant well-being.

Inclusive design was prioritized to ensure it was for all people of the community. In addition to non-gendered and all-ability supports, the local indigenous heritage of the area is embraced, including an acknowledgment of country, building signage in Woiwurrung language, facilities named after indigenous community leaders and internal feature walling designed by indigenous artists.

The Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre is a sustainable building with emphasis on practical and passive sustainability systems. From the outset, the redevelopment focused upon the retention of existing built fabric to reduce its construction carbon footprint. The project demonstrates that creative adaptive reuse of existing built form can be achieved with innovative outcomes while greatly reducing the ecological impact of new construction.

The Civic Centre was constructed to be 100% electric with no fossil fuel connections, powered through a 100kW rooftop photovoltaic and supplemented by a supply contract with a green energy provider. Provisions have been made to allow for future installation of a further 50kW of generation. Further, the building was designed to function with an energy demand of less than 70kWh/sqm/year.

The new western wing of the Civic Centre incorporates a sustainable façade focusing on solar orientation and thermal mass. Glazed facade areas are optimized to prevent excessive thermal load, with externally located adjustable venetian blinds providing solar shading and glare control. Night purging of the interiors is delivered by façade grilles and the Building Automation System to moderate internal conditions across the seasons, and reduce the buildings operational energy costs. Water consumption is targeted to be 1,060kL of mains water per year, with provision on low usage water fittings and rainwater collection tanks sized to capture a target of 1,100kL per year. Within the landscaped areas, water sensitive urban design elements have been included to filter and detain site stormwater before discharge into existing systems. Vegetation native to the local area was preserved and augmented to support the unique ecosystem of the region.