Australia’s first purpose-built centre for LGBTIQ+ people has opened in the inner-Melbourne suburb of St Kilda.
The centre houses arrange of community organizations as well as spaces for art, culture, events and collaboration.
“It’s a very important community building. It couldn’t be more important. This is the only place where a lot of people will feel comfortable, completely at home and safe,” said architect James Brearley, whose practice James Brearley Architects and Urbanists, along with Grant Amon Architects, won a design competition in 2018 for the project.
Brearley and Amon are both long time St Kilda locals and sought to embody the spirit of the suburb in their design.
The Victorian Pride Centre by Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects.
Image:
John Gollings
“A lot of the communities associated with the Pride Centre have been associated with St Kilda for 70 years,” Brearley said.
“We figured if we could create the spirit of St Kilda in the building, we’d be part of the way to making it a welcoming building.
“St Kilda is very much about exotic architecture, Moorish architecture, the architecture of otherness, the architecture of escape, the architecture of suspended belief. We looked at some way to capture that and express that in a contemporary way.”
The architects initially experimented with spheres as a way of defining the architecture of the building. That, however, proved to be impractical and the design was eventually resolved to become a series of circular and elliptical tubes, which are extruded along the length of the site.
Dimity Reed, chair of the competition jury, said the winning design was “the most exciting, the most challenging submission. The design promises to provide a building with a memorable and exuberant identity – a building which claims the street.”
“The internal planning and layout is well considered and promises to deliver both an efficient disposition of elements and a strong sense of civic and community pride.”
The Victorian Pride Centre by Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects.
Image:
John Gollings
At the centre of the building is a dramatic elliptical atrium which is open to a majority of the internal tenanted spaces.
The building houses a range of organizations including Minus18, the Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council, Transgender Victoria, Switchboard Victoria, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Thorne Harbour Health and bookshop Hares and Hyenas, The Australian Queer Archives, Star Observer, Joy FM, Monash Gender Clinic and Star Health.
It also includes social and events spaces, and co-working spaces, a reflection room and a theatrette.
The Victorian Pride Centre by Brearley Architects and Urbanists and Grant Amon Architects.
Image:
John Gollings
The Victorian Pride Centre was built on land donated by the City of Port Phillip and the state government contributed $25 million to the delivery of the building.
“As Australia’s first purpose-built pride centre, this is where everyone can come together, honour the past, celebrate the present, and work towards a more inclusive future,” said Victorian Pride Centre chair Vo Hang.
“We are open, welcoming to everyone, with a culture founded on diversity, inclusiveness and belonging. We are so thrilled to be the new home to a broad community of organisations, groups, vital services and social spaces.”
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said, “Everyone deserves to be supported and celebrated, and the Victorian Pride Centre is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure this is the case for LGBTIQ+ communities – because in Victoria, equality is not negotiable.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
