The Kalkallo Community Centre provides early years, consulting and community programs for the developing community of the adjacent estates of Cloverton and Olivine. The building is structured around the connectivity between all of the programmed spaces, promoting community gathering and the sharing of ideas through the many non-programmed incidental spaces throughout the facility.
The process of design and consultation undertaken on this project was underpinned by the Hume City Councils unique project Governance structure. This structure promotes a continual consultation with the council working groups throughout the design and documentation process, ensuring that all aspects of council policy and community interests are engaged and represented in the design process. Through this approach council is able to shape the project outcome and establish community identity for this facility though the expertise and shared vision of council staff.
The building expression was shaped in partnership with councils’ representatives, describes the balance that is required between the competing needs in this setting. The urban design requirement for street presence and the visual connectivity the neighbourhood activity to the south of the site, is at odds with first principles building orientation and passive environmental design which opens more to the north of the site away from the street. To mitigate these competing needs, the conceptual planning adopts a clever manipulation of the connecting interstitial spaces to permit access to view of street and reserve and the amenity of natural daylight from central spine of the facility. Clear lines of sight between landscaped areas through these spaces ensure that the amenity of natural light and a connection to landscape and place is provided for building users while satisfying the objectives of council policy facilitators that shaped the outcome.
