Cats’ home ground in line for architecture awards
GMHBA Stadium and Barwon Water’s Ryrie St HQ are among the Geelong building projects short-listed in this year’s Victorian Architecture Awards.
In all, Geelong projects are in the running for six awards in the competition, which assesses 14 categories ranging from residential to public, commercial interior and educational architecture.
GMHBA Stadium by Populous and Barwon Water by GHD Woodhead are both short-listed for the commercial architecture award.
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The Ryrie St HQ is also in the running for the sustainable architecture category and the regional prize.
Victorian chapter president Amy Muir said it was the importance of the public realm and the far-reaching combination that architecture makes to daily like that were the most significant themes to emerge from this year’s shortlist.
Populous’ work on the Charles Brownlow Stand at GMHBA Stadium has been nominated for the Victoran Architecture Awards. Picture: Scott Burrows.
“Truly exceptional architecture has the power to improve how people experience life, both in their own private spaces, and in the public realm,” Muir says.
Barwon Water’s head office has been transformed from a tired 1960s and 1970s brutalist building into a bespoke, open and efficient contemporary working environment.
Originally composed of two disparate blocks, an infill tower now connects both wings and hosts a central atrium space, feature stair and skylight cluster.
Populous’ work on the Charles Brownlow Stand at GMHBA Stadium has been nominated for the Victoran Architecture Awards. Picture: Scott Burrows.
The building’s newly-tailored facade responds to site-specific environmental conditions and is instrumental in achieving the project’s 5-star Green Star rating. Its engineered diagrid aesthetic pays homage to Geelong’s industrial spirit and takes visual cues of patterning, repetition and articulation from surrounding buildings.
The project’s integration of a new public forecourt at street level creates clear connections through to Geelong’s civic and cultural precinct where none had existed before.
Barwon Water’s Ryrie St headquarters has been shortlisted for the Victorian Architecture Awards for GHDWoodhead. Pictures: Trevor Mein.
Populous has been part of the GMHBA Stadium redevelopment for a decade.
Stage 4 is the most recent work undertaken by Populous in creating a multipurpose sporting and community venue and new front door to the Geelong Cats’ home ground at the Charles Brownlow Stand.
Designed to maximise atmosphere and the fan experience, the new Brownlow Stand will draw people to live events providing increased commercial revenue streams all while optimising and energising both club activity and the fans’ connection to their team.
Barwon Water’s Ryrie St headquarters has been shortlisted for the Victorian Architecture Awards for GHDWoodhead. Pictures: Trevor Mein.
