Queens Park Sports Pavilion

2022 Gadi Country / Queens Park, NSW

The zigzagging walls of a new sports pavilion in Queens Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs are inspired by the serrated leaf of the Banksia serrata. A remnant of the once widespread Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub can be found near the site. The amenities provide public and sporting communities with a functional and durably-designed, safe, accessible and light-filled facility. ⁠

⁠A central covered area provides shade, access and vistas and breaks down the building’s mass. It provides a sheltered gathering space for sports teams and facilitates a new walkway connecting the two frontages. The building is pinched at both ends, also reducing the sense of overall mass, adding depth to the facade, and creating a separate sheltered area for spectators.

A floating skillion roof is cantilevered upwards towards the fields. Translucent fibreglass and perforated wire mesh over a steel frame forms the roof, providing ample natural light to the changerooms and amenities.

The zigzag walls feature an alternating brick pattern of stretcher bond and extruded Flemish bond, adding texture and interest, whist hit-and-miss brickwork allows connection and natural ventilation. The building features eco-concrete, timed LED lights, and recycled blackbutt timber benches.

Facilities include men’s, women’s and accessible bathrooms and change rooms, umpire facilities, and storage spaces. Landscaping screens and softens the building’s appearance, enhancing the sense of being embedded in the landscape.

Referencing the colours and form of the banksia, a 70-metre long artwork on the shared pathway between the building and sporting fields is designed to manage the flow of cyclists and walkers with sportspeople and spectators.

The building sits lightly in the landscape, receding into it through scale, form, material and colour, an aesthetic contribution to the wider Centennial Parklands.

The site is located on the land of the Gadi Peoples of the Eora Nation who traditionally occupied the Sydney coast. Queens Park is a significant and historical recreational area and was established in 1888.

Published

Architecture & Design – Feb 2023

Project Team

Sam Crawford, Rhys Nicholas, Caitlin Condon, Ken Warr, Allen Huang

Builder

Gartner Rose

Consultant Team

Structural, Civil, Hydraulic, Mechanical Engineer: ACOR
Access & BCA: DPC
Quantity Surveyor: MBM
Heritage Consultant: NGH Consulting

Photography

Brett Boardman

Client

Greater Sydney Parklands