Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre

Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre was a unique opportunity to partner with the most forward-thinking and progressive council in Australia to deliver a world class sports, recreation and community project.

From the outset, Darebin City Council set the goal of creating a vibrant, inclusive, multi-generational health and wellbeing hub for the community. As one of the most diverse municipalities in Melbourne, the ultimate marker of success was to increase participation of its community in a healthy, active lifestyle.

The design process involved a robust stakeholder and community consultation process. While the project was hampered by the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, this proved to have the positive flow-on effect of improved online engagement. Significant feedback was able to be gathered, interrogated and integrated into the project via the “Darebin – Have Your Say” web page, online video conferencing, telephone calls and online surveys.

In addition, together with Darebin City Council and with the assistance of Greenshoot Consulting and Greenaway Architects, the Wurundjieri Woi Wurrung Traditional Owners were consulted as part of a strategy to integrate Indigenous cultural feedback meaningfully into the building.

As a summary, the following user groups and stakeholders were consulted;

Stakeholders
- Northcote Swimming Club
- Northcote Water Polo Club
- Water Polo Victoria
- Synchronised Swimming Victoria
- Fairfield Counselling
- NYP Dragons Water Polo Club
- Melbourne Physiotherapy, Pilates and Fitness Group

Darebin Advisory Committees
- Darebin Disability Advisory Committee
- Darebin Interfaith Council and also the Islamic Council of Victoria (Preston Mosque)
- Sexuality, Sex and Gender Diverse Advisory Committee

Operator feedback sessions
- Aligned Leisure
- YMCA
- Bluefit
- Belgravia
- Club Links

Royal Life Saving Victoria
Wurundjieri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA)

The General Public of Darebin City Council

Aquatic centres are known to be one of the most energy intensive building typologies. They operate 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and provide an important social environment for inter-generational community learning, development of health and wellbeing, and enable communities to thrive.

From the outset, NARC was identified as an opportunity to become a sustainability exemplar, demonstrating how through innovation, commitment and partnership, we can drive a benchmark for better value for money, better environmental performance, and stewardship of our resources. The all-electric design prioritises sustainability, targeting a 6 Star Green Star rating, employs zero waste measures, and incorporates mass timber and solar panels.

Extensive community consultation, including engagement with Wurundjeri Elders, shaped the project’s ethos. Rooted in history and community integration, NARC emerges as a model for urban aquatic facilities, blending inclusion, sustainability, and promoting movement as core design principles.

During the design process the design team was involved with the Green Building Council Australia to prototype the unique building typology and help to inform the now-introduced ‘Green Star for New Buildings’ assessment tools. This had the benefit of the project receiving advice from the GBCA based on the strategies that were being implemented into the project. This was particularly useful during the schematic design phase.

The impact of the new facility, which anticipated 3,000 members joining in the opening month of November, is evidenced by the huge uptake of more than 8,000 membership within eight weeks of opening alongside a further 2,000 Learn to Swim enrolments (against a forecast of 1,400).

An original plan of 140 programmed classes has increased to more than 340 across wet and dry facilities. And between the aquatic, gymnasium, operational and hospitality and front of house, NARC now employs more than 330 people.

NARC was designed to be an inclusive welcoming facility for people of all ages, ethnicities, abilities and from all walks of life. To meet this requirement, extensive community engagement was undertaken to understand and appreciate the specific needs of the community. This extended to the broad spectrum of disability sectors and resulted in the delivery of changing places, adult changing rooms as well as more convention DDA-compliant change facilities.

Some of these change facilities also support our environmental response agenda, with a strong encouragement of users to shower before entering the water, reducing high energy demand in terms of treating and re-heating the pool water and maintaining a high quality of water clarity and health.

Universal principles extend to the pools with each body of water accessible by ramp, stair and mechanical hoist. This includes the leisure water which includes ramps to make the experience as inclusive as possible.

The team throughout construction had a particularly successful social engagement strategy which included the employment of youth cadets on site, an Indigenous-owned plumbing company, engaging with local businesses to support staffing requirements and attendance at local schools to share the benefits of the construction industry.

We’ve since worked closely alongside the operators Clublinks and their management at multiple levels to understand any challenges and educate them on the optimal ways to run the facility. This has contributed to a greater customer experience, aligning the design intent of the facility to the way the facility is run, its operational data (energy demand and water usage), and the health and wellbeing outcomes. As a design team we’ve continued to foster relationships between operator, local disability groups, hospitals, and NDIS workers to align the design with programmes offered to the community.

Well-designed sports and aquatic centres have the capacity to transform communities by reinforcing identity, creating community cohesion and leading the way in sustainability initiatives.

The symbol of the sacred kingfisher championed on the façade of the building was inspired through Indigenous consultation with Wurundjeri Elders that revealed the bird will only nest where ecological balance exists.

As we monitor the performance of NARC – its widespread adoption and efficient operation to 6 Star Green Star standards – it is hoped the symbolic kingfisher will stand as a reminder of the tangible results that great architecture can achieve.

“The Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre in the City of Darebin is a community-focused facility, designed to benefit the entire community. Following best practice universal design principles, the facility ensures full accessibility, fostering a community gathering space for shared health and wellbeing goals. The warm water pool, spa, sauna, and consulting suites contribute to improved health and wellbeing, especially for individuals with disabilities, those in rehabilitation, or adults seeking recovery and connection. The change rooms are fully inclusive, and include options for females, males, gender-neutral, families, school groups, and dedicated accessible spaces including changing places.” - Ruby Nolan, City of Darebin

”It was the first time I really felt I could comfortably be my gender in a recreation centre. I felt included and that this was a safe space for me to exercise, socialise and have fun.” - Member of the Queer Sporting Alliance

“The Indigenous fire pit has become a gathering spot for all manner of community members. Increasingly we’re seeing tables and chairs surrounding this space as the community desire for conversation and connection aligns with this special place.” - Clublinks Venue Manager, Jessie Pigott

The Darebin, Environmentally Sustainable Design Building Policy was developed to show DCC’s commitment to eliminating their carbon footprint, reducing water use, pollution, and waste, plus a range of other sustainable initiatives. In conjunction with the Climate Emergency Plan 2017 – 2022, and the Council Plan 2017 – 2021, NARC supports the goal to expand opportunities for participation and social connection through physical activity, while being a carbon neutral building in operation with 100% green power.

The building typology was the greatest challenge, removing reliance on the existing fossil-fuelled gas and replacing it with an all-electric approach – and the first of its kind in Victoria. The high base energy requirements to heat both air and water ensured the team had to balance thermal performance and air sealing to reduce / minimise the energy demand across all seasons.

The outdoor 50m pool is to be heated and operational operation all year round – accounting for almost 70% of the total energy required. The fluctuations in temperature across seasons and variable bather loads also informed the design.

Targeting a 6 Star Green Star Design and As-Built v1.3 rating, the building requires 75 points or more. It’s on target to achieve 84.8 points.

Energy and water operational targets have been established through modelling the design as follows:

* Energy: 2,750 MWh/yr electricity
* Potable water usage: 22,063 kL/yr

59% reduction in potable water consumption and fire test system water recapture.

Rainwater Reuse - A 60kL rainwater tank is to be installed and will provide stored water to the swimming pools and recycled / grey water to toilets and irrigation systems.

A design stage Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for the whole building was undertaken by the ESD consultant during the design stage and provides guidance for reducing the material impacts of the building compared to a standard practice building.