City of Canada Bay Council judiciously commissioned the distinguished architectural firm DWP to undertake the intricate task of crafting the illustrious Concord Oval Community and Sports Precinct project.
Exalted as a resplendent beacon of community-focused initiatives, this ambitious endeavour was artfully conceived to leave an indelible legacy within the cherished embrace of the Canada Bay community, enduring the relentless test of time with unwavering fortitude and grace.
The $84 million Concord Oval community and sports precinct is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the City of Canada Bay.
This new recreation project has been four years in the making, with the last major upgrade in 1985. It opened in January 2023, and the precinct provides the community with:
We engaged with Ivana Simkovic, DWP Sydney Studio Director, to ask her a few questions about their design motivations, the choice of building materials and the challenges of undergoing a major construction project during the Covid period.
Q: Ivana, DWP is an award winning multicultural architectural practice with representation in many countries throughout Australia, Asia and Middle East, and has a vast portfolio of large-scale projects including a series of Sports & Recreation projects in Australia.
As the Studio Director of DWP Sydney office, and being part of the design team for Concord Oval Community and Sports Precinct project, can you tell us about the design process for a project of this calibre elaborating around the main challenges faced by DWP during the concept, design, and construction stages?
“Planning and the design of the Concord Oval Redevelopment project was focused around the community and how adaptability and flexibility of spaces will cater for future trends and represents the outcome of the interdisciplinary approach.
Redevelopment of Concord Oval now represents a revitalised destination for a range of integrated and colocated community services.
In the design process few had a few challenges including existing fig trees, car parking, traffic conditions, site topography, colocation of number of different sporting activities, site security and meeting future population growth
At the same time we identified a number of opportunities including new connections within the wider sports precinct, shared facilities and amenities as a sport hub, passive recreation, new public realm and civic spaces, commercial and retail offerings and pedestrian and cycle-friendly circulation.
The client and us had aspirations in relation to sustainability, future-proofing and to provide the community with a highly flexible multipurpose facility.
During construction we had some additional challenges and delays due to the heritage excavations and Covid-19 - delays in the program and supply of materials.”
Q: The project location is at the heart of City of Canada Bay – a busy part of Sydney’s inner West region and is intended for community use supporting the NSW Government plan of creating and providing great public spaces.
How important was it for DWP to ensure a harmonic coexistence of internal and external areas, and the relation of the project with its vicinity?
“The client's brief asked for a high-quality and flexible facility that meets the needs of various levels: professional sport, community sport, young people and the community.
The vision for now and well into the future and this goal was a key consideration from the early stages of the project.
The Concord Oval Redevelopment is designed as a safe, welcoming, and positive social gathering place for the broader community.
It enables a wide range of sports and community health programmes and services to be delivered from one location concurrently.
We created a multi-use indoor and outdoor and community destination, a one-stop-shop for elite sports players and fitness enthusiasts, community groups and playing children.”
Q: What was DWP envisioning in terms of visual identity for the buildings that compose Concord Oval Community and Sports Precinct, and how did the final selection of materials take place to deliver that vision?
“The conceptual framework synthesises the challenging programmatic requirements of a mixed use site, the existing urban design framework and creation of a unique identity that reflects both the building occupants and the wider community.
The three main concepts of the architectural design strategy were porosity, identity and integration. They reflect the design principles and provide a distinctive response to the site, the brief and aspirations of the stakeholders.
The site invites participation and passive recreation by providing an urban design with porous edges and inviting public spaces.
The building formand facades provide high visual porosity to express interior activities whilst meditating light and views within the building, especially on Building A.
The architecture uses fenestration, generous apertures and shading to create a unique and distinctive aesthetics with undulating roof forms and facades of Building B and porous louvres to court areas.
Selection of facade materials was a natural progression from this vision. We proposed fibre cement and vertical COLORBOND® cladding articulated through a combination of profiles and colours."
Q: Snap-Line45® architectural panel system, manufactured and supplied by No1 Roofing & Building Supplies, in COLORBOND® steel Monument®, was DWP’s final choice for roofing and cladding of the main buildings in this project.
What made DWP approve this architectural panel?
“We specified Snap-Line45® as a vertical cladding and roof sheeting on both Buildings. It is a very versatile panelling system.
It comes in different profile widths and that allowed us to play and create different aesthetics on different sections of the facade.
It is very durable (we specified it in COLORBOND®) and has a great contemporary look."
Q: Considering current supply chain challenges that are inherent in all large projects like this one, how important is the ability to have the reliability of a local based manufacturer, like No1 Roofing & Building Supplies, for supply of critical building products?
“It is very important as we always look to specify locally sourced materials; first because of the sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of our proposals but also of the lead times for materials supply.
This was especially important during Covid. To rely on a locally sourced manufacturer was great as we didn't face that issue."
Q: Can you tell us about your experience with Snap-Line45® on this particular job, and how likely is DWP to use Snap-Line45® again on future projects?
“We will definitely specify Snap-Line45® again. As I already said, it is very versatile; it comes in different profile widths and has a contemporary look. Also, dealing with the supplier was easy :)"
Q: Do you support the Wests Tigers and how do you think they will go this season?
“Yes, I do :) especially now when we provided this new Centre of Excellence for the Club and I hope they'll go well.
The facility and conditions in which they train now are one of, if not the best in the country.”
Ivana Simkovic - DWP Sydney Studio Director
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Design by: dwp | design worldwide partnership / Installation by: AGF Metal Roofing