Williamstown Town Hall

“We’re investing in the Williamstown Town Hall for the next 100 years. We’ve got a building in its second lifetime” said Angela Altair, Mayor of Hobsons Bay City Council.

This project is a restoration and rediscovery of the Williamstown Town Hall building that was originally constructed in 1918 – exactly 100 years ago.

It was not initially intended that this Town Hall would be remodelled in the way it has been. The brief began with a roof replacement in one section, but the building had reached the end of its technical life. k20 Architecture was engaged by Hobsons Bay City Council to become more involved in what ended up being an eight-year process of building rejuvenation and modernisation.

Angela Altair, the Mayor of Hobsons Bay City Council, has been a councillor there for nearly 20 years. “I know how much work it needed and how run-down it was in places,” she said.

Cr Altair speaks proudly of the building, commenting; “This whole precinct is iconic, not just to Williamstown, but the municipality as a whole. It’s a grand landmark and its importance cannot be understated”. The modernised spaces have proven themselves incredibly versatile, supporting use by Council staff, the community and school events, weddings, operas, citizenship ceremonies and more. “It’s the perfect backdrop,” said Cr Altair.

“When people who haven’t been here for a number of years see it again, they are so impressed by the result. But people seeing the Town Hall for the first time just assume we’ve looked after it really well,” commented Cr Altair, which is a testament to the level of quality and detail achieved throughout this project.

It is a big commitment for Council to restore the Williamstown Town Hall back to the point where it looks original. k20 Architecture supported Hobsons Bay City Council in ensuring its authenticity, yet designing it to perform like a building of the twenty first century. Cr Altair praises the competency of k20 Architecture who “did a fantastic thing and took a strong approach to sustainability by limiting the use of ‘new’ products, such as sourcing antique fireplaces from local resellers and reactivating the old thermal chimney”. Further, the “research which k20 Architecture undertook was meticulous in terms of materials and peeling back layers of paint to reveal original colour schemes,” said Cr Altair.

“As a council, that really blew us away, we knew we were in good hands with k20 Architecture taking that sort of approach”.

The Council and the Hobsons Bay community are proud of their new old building and are finding that it impacts on the way they feel about their locality. “I recently hosted a mayoral gathering,” said Cr Altair, “and we met at the Town Hall as it is something to show off – something that sparks immense pride.” So just as throughout the past 100 years when the local ANZACs rallied for their departure and when the Williamstown Football Club fans gathered to celebrate a win, the precinct is once again alive as the centre of this community.

The Williamstown Town Hall will stand tall for its second lifetime.

Eternity Apartments

West Footscray based metal artist Sean Diamond approached k20 Architecture in early 2017 with an idea to re purpose old shipping containers into the local Melbourne environment.

k20 Architecture took a chance and decided to incorporate this concept for the display suites to front k20’s upcoming Eternity Apartments project in West Footscray.

k20 Architecture have a Local Sustainability Policy (LSP) which is integral to the practice’s design approach, with an aim to design projects with 80% locally sourced materials and labour. All materials incorporated in the Eternity design suit were sourced locally, with the timber that is used for the decking coming from an old home in Collingwood, and the cladding coming from the local Bradmill factory. The shipping container itself is over 15 years old and is still transportable, providing for future re-use.

‘’It’s all recycled, and can be recycled again!’’ says Sean Diamond.

In true artist fashion, even when the container was subject to overnight graffiti Sean decided not to paint over the graffiti and instead chose to embrace the artistic element provided by locals as ‘it gave a nice touch’.

Since working on the display suite Sean has been approached by a number of locals, interested in making the upgrade from their older outdated places into something new and modern.

‘’Locals know me and they are sharing their excitement for the new project. I have had comments from members of the pubic saying they would love to move into the new apartments because they look new and fresh,” Sean said. 

“I really like the design of Eternity, it looks amazing! There is a real synchronisation of the timber panels in both the display suite and Eternity Apartments. I love timber and I am really into it.”

Stoney Creek runs along what will be the southern boundary of Eternity apartments and directly abutting its western edge is an open reserve and to the east is Bassett Reserve.

Uniquely Stoney Creek was incorporated in the design of Eternity as the Architects made the decision to set the building back from the banks. 

‘’This decision has been greatly appreciated to preserve the fantastic little oasis for the community,” says Sean. 

‘‘It’s a nice creek and we should be able to see and access it from the apartments’’.

As for Sean, since starting his endeavour of designing the display suits for k20’s eternity apartments, he has had multiple enquires about shipping containers and is looking forward to continuing his passion in sustainability and repurposing old shipping containers.

McKenzie Street Aged Services Centre

McKenzie Street Aged Services Centre provides a range of services and programs for Melton’s ageing population which includes training courses in areas such as computer use, art, yoga and cooking programs together with offices for professionals who visit the elderly on a daily basis.

The City of Melton previously had a number of aged service centres in its domain, many of which required modification and upgrading. Rather than make a few cosmetic changes to the orange brick centre already in Melton, a major refurbishment and expansion program was undertaken.

k20 Architecture were engaged by Melton City Council in 2013 to provide architectural services for the existing facility as well as to create one new centre, with the two buildings able to function together, or independently. The new facility can be found on the corner of Smith and McKenzie Streets, which is adjacent to the existing facility at 5 McKenzie Street, Melton. The two structures have been linked via an undercover walkway. The new building provides expanded administrative space while the existing facility provides additional program areas for activities for participants.

Manager Community Care Coral Crameri was involved with the project from inception through to completion and worked closely with k20 Architecture throughout the design stage.  

“Our first meeting with k20 Architecture was at the existing facility to identify what was working well and what could be improved within the new design,” Coral Crameri said.

“The existing facility was very overcrowded and the layout meant that when one of the 100 out-of-office staff came into the office they would need to walk in and around the staffing quarters which was very disruptive.

“k20 Architecture listened to this concern and the new design provides for a back entry door accessible from the drop off parking to allow staff to enter and leave again quickly without anyone being none the wiser.”

The new facility incorporates a large tea room, meeting room x2, family room (with available public space for parents), toilets, car parking accessible from back door entry, communications room, storage, and photocopy space as well as administration pods.

Regarding the design of the new facility, Coral said k20 Architecture brought a number of great design ideas, layout options and different textiles to the project.

“k20 Architecture were not only willing to listen to our ideas, but they would always arrive with new ideas and options to bring to the project,” Coral Crameri said.

“Natural light was something that we really wanted incorporated within the new design and the new facility includes high windows which allows for a great amount of natural light.

“This natural light makes you feel like you are connected to the outside, even though you are enclosed from all sides.”

Looking to the future Coral sees the completion of the new facility as an opportunity for McKenzie Street Aged Services Centre to grow as a service provider.

“It will also give other service providers the chance to work from the one space,” Coral Crameri said.

“This facility is beneficial for the whole community because there are so many services all in the one location.

“The new facility has improved client satisfaction as well as staff engagement and will provide additional staff safety as many of the staff who once worked out of the office now have that central support.”

Capital Projects Coordinator Braith Norman said the most important factor for this project was discussing what the benefits of this new facility were for the community long term.  

“The idea of the design was to free up the new extension as the user groups have greater engagement in the existing facility. The new facility is specific to administration which has provided better communication for the facility and users,” Braith Norman said.

“k20 Architecture Director Anthony U took a lead role from the beginning of the project and this continued throughout the duration of the project.

“The project was delivered on time and budget and has provided a great outcome for the staff and Council.” 

Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) initiatives are ingrained within every k20 project and Melton City Council also saw these features as important within the new design.

“Initially these ESD design innovations did pose an issue to the contractor who had no prior experience working with the ESD materials we were incorporating,” Braith said.

“k20 Architecture were very patient with the contractor and helped them throughout the construction phase.“

Braith said it is facilities like McKenzie Street Aged Services Centre that will help to lead the way and inspire the community for the best possible future. 

“It is great to have projects like this that are iconic within the community, providing inspiration for the whole community.”

“I work across the road but I am definitely thinking of moving my desk over to this new facility!”

Above image: Capital Projects Coordinator Braith Norman