Weave Youth and Community Services: an Agent of Transformation

Collins and Turner, Low Density, Project, Repair, Territory and mobility, Urban Paradigms

Active Public Spaces, Architecture, Architecture’s role, Australia, Built landscape, Canopy, Design, Design strategies, Empowering society, Façade, Green roof, Greeneries, Landscape, Project, Regeneration, repair, Rethinking Urban Environments, Territorial Approach, Urban environment, Urban Paradigms, Urban regeneration, Vegetation, Well-being

Excerpt from "Repair", 2018 -- https://actar.com/product/repair/

This small project reveals the power of architecture and landscape as an agent of transformation. Formerly a toilet block, it is now a community counselling centre and a hub for local youth. The design is resourceful in the multiple uses it gets out of every element: the wrapped skin is a graffiti-proof cladding, a sunshade, a green wall, habitat, a pergola and a placemaker. The courtyard is a lightwell, a ventilation device, a secure meeting room and a garden. The roof is a large space for meetings, for community gardening and art activities, or for a safe and private retreat. The design attempts to solve difficult problems in a tough and challenging urban environment. An adaption and reuse, it transforms the building, the park, its occupation and the neighbourhood of Waterloo currently undergoing rapid urban renewal and change.