A small public building in the Sydney Harbourside suburb of Balmain designed to serve a diverse community of users, from playground parents and
dog-walkers in the local park to tennis players from the adjacent courts.
Public amenities must be secure and safe to use, easily maintained, and built
for longevity. Ideally, they also add to the public domain quality.
Information
Client
Inner West Council
Location
Balmain, NSW - Traditional Custodians: Wann Peoples
Completion
2019
Our Team
Shaun Carter
Stephanie Chiu
Collaborators
Engineering
Cardno
Landscape Architecture
Melissa Wilson Landscape Architects
Photography
Brett Boardman
Awards
National Architecture Awards, Small Projects
Shortlist
NSW Architecture Awards, Small Projects
Commendation
Designed to mediate between the park and adjacent tennis courts, the
amenities offer a simple form under a skillion roof using familiar domestic
elements: a corrugated steel water tank and a vintage concrete twin laundry
tub, recycled as a handbasin. The white weatherboard exterior nods to the
worker’s cottages of Balmain, while the skylit pale pink interior is a delightful
surprise. The amenities are open to all by day, with steel gates along three
sides sliding closed to secure the building by night. Rainwater harvested
from the amenities and tennis shelters is used for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation.
