Geeveston Child and Family Centre wayraparattee – Liminal Architecture
Project summary
Located in the southern Tasmanian rural township of Geeveston, known for its apple and forestry industries, this project sees the refurbishment and extension of a set of 1950s weatherboard buildings. Federally funded through the Indigenous Early Childhood Development National Partnership Agreement, the purpose of the Child and Family Centres is to improve the learning, care, health and wellbeing of Tasmania’s very young children by supporting parents and enhancing accessibility of services in the local community. To foster community ownership and ensure the long-term success beyond project handover, the community was heavily involved in all aspects of decision making, from the project’s inception. Conceived as a reinterpretation of the existing building typology, the new extension re-imagines the linear, gabled, weatherboard vernacular as three steep gabled forms fused together asymmetrically. Internally, planning arranges the orthogonal forms, achieving spatial fluidity and varied connections between spaces. The complex program and functional relationships are carefully resolved within the existing and new buildings, to manage issues of privacy and children’s safety, while supporting informal and formal learning, inspiring social gatherings and achieving a sense of openness. This project encourages a supportive social network, playing a key role in bringing together the rural village community.
Construction
Maveric Builders – builder
Consultants
Gandy and Roberts – structural consultant
Inspiring Place – landscape consultant
JMG – services consultant
Peter Whyte – photographer
Lee Tyers Building Surveyors – building surveyor