Southport Uniting Church

C. Kairouz Architects designed new office space for the Southport Uniting Church in South Melbourne.

The new office space connects seamlessly with the existing heart of the church.

It features a large green slope and central community garden above the carpark and works to create a strong connection between the streetscape and the communal landscape on Level 1.

The main use of the building was for open office spaces for 14-15 staff with some private offices for senior staff.

A reception area and back-of-house was also planned with ancillary uses catered for including relief space, lunch area, printing area, breakout room for quiet space, server room, and storage.

Two multi-purpose rooms were also required which could be used for community use. Other ancillary functions included:

another multi-purpose room on the ground floor
storage for aged care activity
kitchen
laundry
disabled toilet with baby change area
showers
a 20 car garage with secure bike parking

A second building was also required to house a workshop for bike repairs and computer room with toilets.

This project has some history.

A history of missteps.

The Church had previously commissioned a design for this project.

But it was unviable.

So it was abandoned.

C. Kairouz Architects was then commissioned to design a viable scheme to a strict building cost budget.

They were no strangers to value engineering.

Their approach was to strategically redesign the new office to the west side of the site, on a less valuable area.

It was a sensible and commercial way of considering and optimizing the site’s development potential.

This meant the Church not only would avoid the upfront cost of demolishing the existing multi-purpose space which was still usable and had considerable utility.

But it would also leave open the possibility to develop the land in the future.

The new proposed office space, redesigned above a part-subterranean car park, would act as a sound buffer between the railway and church.

Finally, a green roof would connect the public garden with the office.

This would screen the view of the cars from the church and deliver amenity to the office and the community.

C. Kairouz Architects designed a cost effective and efficient underground car park for 20 cars and a community mini-bus.

Their car park design maximized yield, reduced the extent of excavation required, and allowed two mature palm trees, approximately 5 meters tall, to be successfully relocated and integrated into the new landscape design.

In other sustainability measures, 40,000 litres of water storage tanks were installed.

And a solar farm on the roof of the building enabled the whole building to operate off the grid.

Double-glazed windows were used on all exterior facades, with shading visors made from perforated metal deployed to all windows on the west facade to moderate the hot afternoon sun.

The landscaped slope C. Kairouz Architects designed acts as a ‘green roof’ for the car park, creating a strong connection with the building and the community garden at the front of the site.

In probably the biggest value-adding contribution to the project, C. Kairouz Architects’ scheme preserved the site’s future development potential.

And that was a significant win.

That’s because the 2,500 m2 of site area that the C. Kairouz Architects scheme preserved, is now being planned for an aged care centre and affordable housing.

Project Details

Project size – 1,511 m2
Completion date – 2014
Building levels – 2

Project Team

Architecture

C. Kairouz Architects

Melbourne-based C. Kairouz Architects believe in innovation and smart, high-quality architecture that makes sense – in both design and budget.

They understand architects have a social responsibility.

Their focus is on people, to create value-adding, sustainable solutions for their clients, residents, suburbs and cities alike.

www.ckarchitects.com.au

Photography

Andrew Latreille

Andrew Latreille is an Architectural Photographer working from Vancouver, Canada and Melbourne Australia, creating descriptive and telling photographs of the built environment.

www.andrewlatreille.com