Full points for new clubhouse design

A long and detailed collaboration between an architectural firm and a surf life saving club on the Bellarine has seen the result lauded in this year’s Victorian Architecture Awards.

The Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club building, designed by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, was one of the winners in the Public Architecture category at the awards, staged by the Victorian branch of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), the nation’s peak body for the industry.

Built by Lyons Construction and officially opening in December 2021, the $5.8-million clubhouse has 1,096sqm of gross floor area and replaces the original facility, which was more than 70 years old.

In their citation for the award, the AIA judges said the two-storey clubhouse displayed Jackson Clements Burrows’ “architectural skill, social and environmental concern, and aptitude at distilling the client’s brief into a resolved public building”.

“The building clearly displays both the client and project team’s ambition to  create a shared meeting place and asset for the club and the broader community of Point Lonsdale.

“In addition to its expressive form, consistent palette and thorough attention to detail, the building remains respectful of the scale, character and amenity of its surroundings.”

The building is “at once practical, warm, social, and generous”, the judges said, typified by its corner kiosk, long bench at the entry and batten fences.

External timber finishes are expressed throughout the building, creating a domestic ambience that exudes warmth and references the coastal beach houses nearby.

The large public lawn with terraced decking provides a welcoming space that supports community events, food trucks and training programs.

A design philosophy of civic generosity and casualness flows through the building and landscape, providing contemporary club facilities as well as engaging community spaces across both levels.

Jackson Clements Burrows Architects founding partner and director Graham Burrows said his team was thrilled to receive the award.

“We’re so proud and passionate about how this building has really fitted in to the community and how it’s really forming itself as a sort of a vibrant community hub, and really seeming to meet the aspirations we and the club had wanted it to be, which is a building that sort of becomes a bit of a heart for the community – it’s a building that can be used in multiple ways – so for all of these sorts of reasons, we’re very happy it’s recognised for what it’s doing.”

He said his firm had been working with Point Lonsdale SLSC from very early in the redevelopment process.

“The club had done some early feasibility work to help it understand what their brief and what their requirements for the building were, and they then engaged us just after developing a concept design and schematic design.

“We looked at a number different options and scenarios and settled on the final design when we realised it allowed the building to really engage with the courtyard space, which is a really important part of how they function and how they operate within the community. A lot of what they do is about what’s in the building, but it’s also about the activities and functions that are outside and around the building – the triangular gardens, and so forth.”

Jackson Clements Burrows Architects have previous experience with surf life saving clubs, and Graham said some of the experience from designing the South Melbourne Life Saving Club (which was commended in the 2020 AIA Victorian Architecture Awards) and the in-progress Dendy Street Beach Pavilion and Life Saving Club had bled into the Point Lonsdale design.

“We learn from all of these projects, so we bring learnings from other projects to this one. Every club’s a little bit different in terms of the way they operate, and every site is different.

“I think this site is distinctly different from the other two, which were right on the beach, whereas this one is behind the dunes so it really functions in a slightly different way; it’s more about a home base and a hub for training and some of their administrative functions and community engagement functions.

“We felt that Point Lonsdale’s such a beautiful piece of Victorian coastline, it’s a beautiful environment there and we just wanted a building that felt like it would embed itself in that natural environment. You’ve got the beautiful sand dunes across the road and the ti-tree environment, so it felt obvious to us to try to design a building that felt appropriate to its place through use of the materials and the simplicity, almost, of its form.”

Point Lonsdale SLSC president Charlie Pitney said his club had been working towards a new clubhouse for more than a decade.

“[The award] just goes to show what a great facility we do have, and it’s a credit to the work of the many volunteers over the course of 15-plus years who have contributed to this. The architecture of it is amazing, and the fact it’s been made to work for a lifesaving facility while retaining the integrity of the design is really important. it’s a functional facility, but it’s also a beautiful facility.

“Jackson Clements Burrows have really been part of that journey, especially over the past five or so years.

“No-one, 15 years ago, could have imaged what this end product could have looked like, but we’ve been fortunate to have Jackson Clements Burrows and Lyons Construction as well as a lot of other contractors along the way that have helped to contribute towards this facility that we see as a huge asset to the Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff community.”

Mr Pitney said the new clubhouse had helped drive club membership to a record 1,600 last summer – up from 1,000 the year before and 300 more than the previous record.