Architect: Adriano Pupillli Architects
Builder: Grindley Interiors
Location: Long Reef NSW
We are thrilled to congratulate Adriano Pupilli Architects and Tyrell Studio Landscape for their impressive achievement of winning the Public Architecture Award at the 2024 NSW Architecture Awards. This remarkable project also secured the Excellence Award at the Asset and Infrastructure Awards 2024.
The renewed Long Reef Surf Life Saving Club, which opened its doors in 2023, is an example of thoughtful design and community engagement. Nestled within a sanctuary of native flora and fauna, this facility offers urban dwellers a serene natural retreat. The design features a series of smaller pavilions seamlessly integrated into the landscape, framed by an existing dune to the east and a man-made dune to the west.
Community input was pivotal in shaping the architects’ brief, emphasising the need for a low-key yet robust facility to serve locals, club members, council, and visitors for generations to come. The resulting design skillfully blends into the environment, with timber rain screens that will gracefully weather to a silver finish, preserving the rich ecosystem of Long Reef and the greater Griffith Reserve.
Partridge proudly contributed to the consultancy team for this project, focusing on the three new buildings constructed from steel, timber, and concrete, which surround a central courtyard. Our collaboration with the architects and landscape architects extended to landscaping elements, including off-form concrete bench seats suspended over significant tree root zones. We reviewed the smallest of details from window sills to downpipes.
A shallow concrete raft footing system on engineered fill was used for all buildings. Unique elements requiring structural input included custom balustrades, breezeblock screens and custom off-form concrete landscaping walls and benches. Curtain walls and bespoke window and door frames were integrated with the structural steel, timber and concrete supports for the roofs.
The main social hub of the facility enhances outdoor spaces, reducing the building’s footprint and reliance on enclosed areas. Outdoor furniture designed to collect shifting sands and vegetation, fosters interactions among different user groups. The main pavilion, with its second-story function room, offers breathtaking views of North Head and vistas of the dunescape and Banksia Grove.
This winning project demonstrates how thoughtful design and community collaboration can create a space that not only serves its users but also respects and preserves its natural surroundings.
https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/council/news/long-reef-surf-club-takes-home-prestigious-award
