The new $5.8-million Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club, designed by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, has been named one of the winners in this year’s Victorian Architecture Awards.
On the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria and built by Lyons Construction, the new clubhouse officially opened in December last year. It covers 1096sqm of gross floor area and replaced the original facility, which was more than 70 years old.
The clubhouse was recognised in the Public Architecture category at the awards, staged by the Victorian branch of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), the nation’s peak body for the industry.
In their citation, the judges said the two-storey clubhouse displayed “architectural skill, social and environmental concern, and aptitude at distilling the client’s brief into a resolved public building”.
“The building clearly displays both the client and project team’s ambition to create a shared meeting place and asset for the club and the broader community of Point Lonsdale,” the judges said.
The building is “at once practical, warm, social, and generous”, they added.
Architects Jackson Clements Burrows said the old clubhouse was no longer fit-for-purpose and a new two-storey building was urgently needed.
“The new clubhouse aims to foster community relationships, provide a hub of year-round activity and enhance the club’s reputation as one of the state’s most-effective surf lifesaving bodies. It also aims to provide an exemplar of coastal environmental and socially sustainable development through high-quality design and amenity,” it said.
External timber finishes are expressed throughout, creating a domestic ambience that exudes warmth and draws on the surrounding coastal beach house context. A large public lawn with terraced decking provides a welcoming space that supports community events, food trucks and training programs.
Point Lonsdale SLSC president Charlie Pitney said his 1000 volunteer club members had been working towards a new clubhouse for more than a decade.
“The architecture of it is amazing, and the fact it’s been made to work for a lifesaving facility while retaining the integrity of the design is really important. It’s a functional facility, but it’s also a beautiful facility.“
The new clubhouse was partially funded with $2.5 million from the Victorian Government alongside public donations.
