Geelong Library & Heritage Centre Commemorative Brochure

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Geelong Regional Libraries 51 Little Malop Street Geelong VIC 3220 P 03 4201 0500 E info@grlc.vic.gov.au www.grlc.vic.gov.au

Contents

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Foreword

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Introduction

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History of Geelong Library

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History of Geelong Heritage Centre

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Project Background

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Project History Timeline

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Architectural Inspiration

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre: Level by level

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Ground Floor & Mezzanine – Gathering place

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Level 1 – Reading nest and Cave

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Level 2 – Inspiration space

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Level 3 – The vault

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Level 5 – The high ground

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Environmentally Sustainable Design Features

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Project Information & Acknowledgements

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

This magnificent building was designed for the whole city to enjoy.

Every element of this state-of-the-art building has been planned with the community in mind.

The Geelong Library & Heritage Centre connects well with the surrounding buildings and Johnstone Park and is a key part of our city’s Cultural Precinct.

Once you step foot in this building, you won’t want to leave. Apart from the comprehensive range of books on offer and plush Heritage Centre, there is a fun children’s space, youth area full of technology, meeting space, function area with breathtaking views, gallery and café.

It really has it all!

Developing the $45.5 million Geelong Library & Heritage Centre was a priority project by Council and the State Government who originally funded the Cultural Precinct Masterplan 2007.

The City of Greater Geelong provided $20.5 million, the Victorian State Government $15 million and the Federal Government $10 million.

The Cultural Precinct Masterplan 2007 clearly had a big vision for Geelong.

The Plan envisaged ‘a Cultural Precinct that enlivens the cultural life of the people of Greater Geelong, the G21 region and its visitors, that is widely regarded as a quality destination providing a high level of cultural offerings through a range of exciting, inclusive and engaging activities, events and offerings'.

Foreword

Foreword

Welcome to the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre.

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

The Geelong Library & Heritage Centre (GLHC) is a triumph on many levels.

The impressive and thoughtfully designed building has positively and irrevocably changed Geelong’s architectural landscape. Inside, the digitally-advanced spaces provide the perfect platform for the delivery of a world-leading library and information service.

Under the domed roof of this iconic building the past and the future effortlessly coexist. As the new home for the Geelong region’s vast collection of heritage archives, the GLHC provides a tangible and invaluable link to the history of the area. At the same time, the innovative and technology-rich facility boldly steers us towards the future.

Designed to be an inspiring, multi-purpose space, the centre will be many things to many people: a place for meeting and socialising; for quiet reading and study; for attending events; for using new technologies; for work and for play.

The Geelong Regional Library Corporation is immensely proud to be able to deliver services from this wonderful building. Our network of sixteen library branches and two mobile libraries spans four municipalities, and provides high-quality library services and lifelong learning opportunities. As the central branch in our network, the GLHC sets the benchmark for service delivery excellence, and provides a training ground for staff in the use of new technology and innovative customer service initiatives.

As Mayor I am proud we have delivered an outstanding building that will ensure culture, innovation and cutting edge design is synonymous with Greater Geelong.

We invite you to take the time to explore the library, to find your favourite spaces, and to make it your own.

Enjoy and Giddy up!

Cr Andy Richards, Chair of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation

Cr Darryn Lyons, Geelong Mayor

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Introduction

Inspirational.

Innovative.

Iconic.

The opening of the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre is symbolic of Geelong’s evolution from a city founded on heavy industry, to a centre of excellence for culture and learning.

Its existence is the result of a bold and unwavering vision, and represents the culmination of many years of lobbying, planning and collaborative effort.

Sophisticated and technology-rich, the world-class facility is designed to meet the expectations of 21st century public library users, providing contemporary and innovative library and information services.

It is also a vibrant gathering space for local residents and workers to enjoy, and a tourist destination for visitors to the region.

Within the iconic domed building are five public levels – beautiful, inspiring and inclusive spaces for reading, studying, meeting and discovering.

Situated in the heart of Geelong’s flourishing Cultural Precinct, the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre is already a much-loved addition to the city’s cultural and architectural landscape, and is destined to be a source of great civic pride for many years to come.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

The tiny library housed about 500 books, and Harrison charged customers 15 shillings per quarter for the privilege of borrowing one book at a time.

Despite this parlous assessment there was little intervention, and the Second World War caused further distress to the situation.

Throughout the 1840s there were several attempts to establish a literary or mechanics’ institute in the city, and finally, in 1847, the Geelong Mechanics’ Institute was opened on Ryrie Street, adjacent to the Post Office. A more substantial facility, which included a library and theatre hall, was opened in 1856.

In 1949 the Council assumed control of the Library, and in 1955 the Chamber of Commerce building was vacated and sold for £25,000. The revenue from the sale was used to build a new, purpose-built library next to Johnstone Park, designed by renowned local architects Buchan, Laird and Buchan. The library service took up temporary residence in City Hall during construction.

Despite existing to serve the working classes, institute libraries, like commercial ones, were inaccessible to those unable to afford the often-hefty subscription fees.

The concept of a free public library for the city was first mooted at a public meeting in January 1875. In the same year, the Geelong Council purchased the neo-classical Chamber of Commerce building in Moorabool Street to house the Geelong Free Library, which was officially opened on 15 September 1876.

The collection and internal fit-out was funded by a colonial grant of £500, a City grant of £100, and public subscriptions of more than £120. The library was managed by a committee of fifty local citizens and council representatives.

The Geelong Free Library operated for many years, but the depression of the 1930s starved it of public funds. A report of 1936 states: The Geelong Public Library is one of the poorest libraries in Victoria. … No new books have been added in the last 5 years … and the library is reduced to the extremity of placing a contribution box, begging for small coins.

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The Geelong City Library was opened on 28 August 1959 by the Chief Secretary of Victoria, Sir Arthur Rylah. During its 50 years in operation, it attracted several million visits and lent more than 10 million books. The library became a community hub: a place where people came to learn new skills, participate in activities, and connect to the digital world.

However, the demands on the facility were too great – changing times and a growing population called for a new and innovative central library. In March 2010, the City of Greater Geelong unanimously resolved to commit $20 million to the construction of a new library, thus cementing the future of the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre.

In early 2013, library services were moved to a temporary facility in the State Government office building on Little Malop Street before the old building was demolished in 2013. By late 2013, construction of the new Geelong Library & Heritage Centre had commenced, and the building was officially opened on 20 November 2015.

History of Geelong Heritage Centre

History of Geelong Library

Geelong’s first library was a commercial one, commencing operation in 1840 from the back room of James Harrison’s Geelong Advertiser office.

The origins of the Geelong Heritage Centre stem from the establishment of a Jubilee Committee in 1951 – the year that Victoria celebrated its centenary of separation from the colony of New South Wales. One of the aims of the Committee was to raise funds to erect a permanent memorial in Geelong to mark the anniversary.

Many suggestions for the memorial were proposed by various sections of the community, and for almost two decades no consensus could be reached on how to proceed. Finally, in 1970, agreement was reached, and the Geelong City Council was directed to use the funds to establish a Geelong Historical Records Centre.

Construction soon began on an additional level atop the single-storey Geelong City Library at 51 Little Malop Street. Whilst construction was completed in 1975, it was another four years before the centre would open its doors to the public.

Donations of collection items began to come in from the community. Under the guidance of archivist Norm Houghton, who was supported by a small but dedicated group of staff and volunteers, the archive of collected recorded history of the Geelong region grew.

A strong collaborative partnership with the Geelong Historical Society, and recognition of the centre as an official ‘Place of Deposit’ by the Public Record Office of Victoria, contributed to its success.

The centre soon became a valuable resource for the local community, history enthusiasts, genealogists, researchers, students and academics. The growing popularity of family history research saw Geelong Heritage Centre collection material feature in several Australian and international television programs. For local and touring family historians the centre became a ‘must visit’ destination.

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The centre’s success also became its Achilles’ heel. The records storage facility had not been purpose-built, and despite several small upgrades, shelf storage capacity remained frustratingly limited.

The repository also failed to meet industry standards for the long-term preservation of the collection, and the invaluable items housed within the centre were increasingly vulnerable.

In 2006, the Geelong Heritage Centre was assigned for redevelopment as part of the Geelong Cultural Precinct's Masterplan, and soon plans were in motion for the development of the new Geelong Library & Heritage Centre (GLHC).

The facility promised a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled repository for Victoria’s largest regional archive of public and private records.

In 2010 the decision was made to fully integrate the Geelong Heritage Centre into the Geelong Regional Library Corporation.

Construction of the GLHC began in late 2013, at which time a temporary Geelong Heritage Centre Reading Room was established in the National Wool Museum. On 20 November 2015 the new, fully integrated Geelong Library & Heritage Centre was officially opened.

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Project Background

The opening of the centre brings to fruition over ten years of intense community consultation, analysis and expert planning.

Extensive strategic work and lobbying began in 2001 and resulted in the identification of the GLHC as a key priority project by the City of Greater Geelong and the G21 Geelong Regional Alliance.

The redevelopment of the existing Geelong Library and Geelong Heritage Centre formed a major component of the Geelong Cultural Precinct Masterplan – a $500,000 joint initiative between the City of Greater Geelong and the State Government of Victoria.

Announced in October 2006, the plan identified key sites for major development in the Little Malop Street and Johnstone Park area, with the vision of creating a cultural precinct that enlivens the cultural life of the people of Greater Geelong, the G21 region and its visitors. The Masterplan recognises the significant potential of the precinct as a major contributor to Central Geelong, with associated cultural, social and economic benefits to the broader G21 region.

The Geelong Library & Heritage Centre is the result of a clear vision from the City of Greater Geelong and the Geelong Regional Library Corporation to develop a technologically-advanced library and heritage service that meets the needs of 21st century users.

Delivery of the $45.5 million GLHC project was enabled through funding from the City of Greater Geelong ($20.5 million), the State Government of Victoria ($15 million) and the Commonwealth Government ($10 million).

Award-winning Melbourne firm, ARM Architecture, completed the architectural design of the cutting-edge facility, demolition of the old library was carried out by Bernie Leen, while construction was undertaken by Kane Constructions.

The GLHC is owned by the City of Greater Geelong, and is managed and operated on behalf of the City by the Geelong Regional Library Corporation.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Project History Timeline

May 2013

February 2007

Public Library Buildings Development Strategy adopted by City of Greater Geelong Council. City of Greater Geelong and Geelong Regional Library Corporation

State Government endorsed Cultural Precinct Master Plan, funded Stage One $7.8m for Old Courthouse building and detailed business cases for Geelong Library & Heritage Centre and Geelong Performing Arts Centre

McGlashan Everist Architects - Feasibility Study: Central Branch Expansion.

Commissioned by the Geelong Regional Library Corporation

2001

2002

2006

2007

Victorian Government approves $15m funding for Geelong Library & Heritage

September 2009

December 2007 May 2002

Geelong Library and Geelong Heritage Centre relocate to interim premises

May 2011

Geelong Cultural Precinct Masterplan. Regional Development Victoria, City of Greater Geelong and Major Projects Victoria

September 2011 Federal Government announces $10m funding for Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

December 2013 Geelong Library & Heritage Centre Transition Strategy (services and operations) developed.

Geelong Regional Library Corporation

November 2011

Suters Architects.

Area Schedules and Concept options

2009

Demolition of old library and heritage centre completed and construction commences

Centre

December 2009

2008

November 2013

Tender for architectural design services advertised

2010

2011

2012

2013

2015

2001

June 2006

January 2008

2010

April 2012

November 2015

Lobbying for new library commenced

Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) Geelong Cultural Precinct Feasibility Study.

Arts Victoria. City of Greater Geelong, Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong Gallery

Strategic Plan January to December 2008. Geelong Cultural Precinct Leadership Group

Suters Architects. Geelong Library & Heritage Centre Masterplan Report

Architectural Design Services awarded to ARM Architecture

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre opens

February 2010

September 2012

Biruu Australia. Geelong Library & Heritage Centre Business Case completed.

Major Projects Victoria

The Dome Concept unveiled

March 2010 City of Greater Geelong Council unanimously resolved to commit $20m to a new Geelong Library & Heritage Centre on the existing site in Lt Malop Street

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Design concepts

Ian McDougall, Founding Director ARM Architecture, with Rachel Buchanan

Architectural Inspiration

Cities grow in the shape of their community values. Their street maps display the institutions of their society and their history. Geelong is an archetypal Australian city: in its centre is the grand town hall, the university, the art gallery, the courthouse, the government offices and, now, the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre.

This is a civilised community set out by colonisation. Our ambiguous relationship with cities results from unresolved intellectual contradictions that existed at the time of colonial settlement: the confusion between the idea of perfection as a result of the rationalist method (mechanised city) and the idea of beauty in sublime nature (the landscape).

This contradiction is manifest in a sense of belonging to our land while simultaneously feeling detached.

This same tussle is played through in the way we have designed the new Geelong Library & Heritage Centre. In architecture, the contradiction creates the hybrid of French Rationalist architecture and the English picturesque. Our design begins in the pragmatism of its specific function: it needs to be flexible. Thus, at its core, the building is simply a multi-level commercial space. It is, nevertheless, a tuned instrument, efficient in energy and service points, ready for many types of occupation.

Who can predict what the Library of the Future will be? It is a modern machine.

With this, we also wished to acknowledge its symbolic stature in the civic heart. It is, before all else, the City’s library and heritage repository. It represents a continuous line of community intellect that begins in the ambition for all societies to improve themselves through knowledge. Like the State Library of Victoria, it epitomises the ideal of information for all.

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The sphere and the dome both have strong architectural lineage in civic buildings: the great domed cathedrals of the sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance epitomise the rise of humanist thought; the French visionary spherical monuments of the late eighteenth century embody the revolution of the Enlightenment; the progression towards equality, education and democratic government are displayed in the domes of the British Museum (1854) and State Library of Victoria (1913) reading rooms. The final two are direct antecedents to our Geelong Library & Heritage Centre building. It stands in this civic urban tradition and also projects to the futurist spheres of Buckminster-Fuller’s geodesic domes. Or even Star Wars.

“ Readers look out at the park not through a flat glass plane but from vantages, from outcrops and crags that overlook other lookouts…The garden comes into the building, onto ledges and eyries.”

In counterpoint to the geometry of the dome, we were also keen to ensure the building captured aspects of the natural.

It needed to become part of its parkland neighbour. On its western face, fronting Johnstone Park, the building is apparently eroded by some natural influence. Like a grotto or the entry to Fingal’s Cave, the building breaks into a crystalline alcove, allowing the landscape into its zone. From within, readers and researchers look out at the park not through a flat glass plane but from vantages, from outcrops and crags, that overlook other lookouts. The garden comes into the building, onto ledges and eyries.

The building is within the park, hinting at a more complex figuration, hidden inside the Euclidean sphere, a contemplative prospect from the reading rooms.

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These traditions interplay throughout the building: the efficient machine ready to be occupied; the community sentinel of knowledge and wellbeing; the contemplation of the natural world. Above all, our ambition was to generate something of remarkable speculation in a place that has experienced the ebb and flow of prosperity, the sense of belonging and achievement.

In Geelong, the depth and immediacy of local history, along with a hunger to know, has nurtured the energy that has built this institution. We wanted to give that energy a significant home.

Great skin The domed roof is made of 332 large glass reinforced concrete (GRC) panels. This unusual cladding system comprises 18 different standard hexagonal tiles and one standard pentagram arranged in a repetitive mirrored array to form a geodesic dome, the first ARM has designed. (By contrast, copper domes, such as the State Library, are made from ribbed parallelograms.)

Tiles, coloured in a palette of four muted browns, are graded in a heat map pattern to accentuate the crest of the dome.

The colours link the new building with the historic ones around it so it clearly belongs but is also distinctive and new.

Ingenious bones structure the building’s skin. The steel and concrete columns and post-tension floor slabs involved standard construction techniques but the eroded spherical geometry creates jagged floor slab edges. Two peninsulas of concrete on the north-west and south-west corners are suspended from the roof via stainless steel macalloy bars.

The innovative dome cladding system won an award before it was even completed: the Concrete Institute of Australia’s Victorian State Award for Excellence in the Building Projects Category, 2015.

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre Level by level

Within the iconic domed exterior of the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre lies a fittingly bold interior.

Designed to be both practical and aesthetic, the spectacular spaces are purpose-built to enable a range of uses as necessitated by a modern public library audience – from quiet and contemplative, to noisy and communal.

Complementing the superb physical spaces is a world-class service delivered by expert and specialist staff. Whether visitors require help navigating the collection of over 100,000 digital and print items, or advice about using the cutting-edge technology available throughout the facility, staff are on hand to enhance the user experience.

In addition to the five publicly-accessible levels, there are a further three levels which house building services and the library’s administrative headquarters. The lower ground floor contains the bulk of the building services, including water harvesting and storage. This floor also features a loading dock with a dock leveller adjacent to a large secure storeroom and access passage. The sixth floor is acoustically isolated from the rest of the building, and houses the plant rooms and air handling system. The cooling towers are open to the sky and the sustainable mechanical systems are designed for optimum performance and energy efficiency.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Level 5 - The high ground

Level 4 - Administration

Level 3 - The vault

Level 2 - Inspiration space

Level 1 - Reading nest and Cave

Ground Floor & Mezzanine - Gathering place

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Ground Floor & Mezzanine Gathering place Ki-kirri-ngitj – We talk together

The ground floor is an open-plan, informal area featuring a six metre high wall of books.

On this floor visitors can speak with library staff, return books, pick up reserved items and enjoy a collection which includes awardwinning Australian authors, newspapers and magazines. An 80-seat café – including an external deck with terraced gardens – provides direct access to Johnstone Park.

This level also houses a 200m² exhibition gallery space, with a connection to the Geelong Gallery.

Suspended above the ground floor and bisecting the wall of books at its mid-point vertically, the mezzanine provides a vantage point to the ground floor. A secluded reading area occupies the northern end of the mezzanine level.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Level 1 Reading nest and Cave Ngawirring ngiyt – Learn together Kanyul karrung – Youth space Level one is a dedicated space for children and young people, and features an external timber terrace, a wet-area activities room, age-appropriate technology and collection resources, and a family room. Colourful and comfortable furnishings, including an adjustable ottoman inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, create a family-friendly environment for learning and reading.

A 100-inch screen and gaming consoles provide young people with opportunities for relaxation and fun.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Level 2 Inspiration space Nyaal – Open your eyes

The open-plan second floor houses the library’s print and digital collection for adults, presented on bespoke shelving units. A series of meeting rooms along the northern wall contain graphic wallpaper featuring a digitally altered reproduction of Eugene von Guerard’s 1856 work, View of Geelong. The western meeting room has a single hexagonal window on the northern wall revealing a view of contemporary Geelong. There are a variety of seating options with distinct geometric forms.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Level 3 The vault Kim barne thaliyu – Here yesterday

Level three houses Geelong’s new Heritage Centre. This bold red area is as distinctive as the collection it houses, and includes custom shelving and joinery which is integrated into the space. The public-access area features a large research desk, digital display, reference library, microfilm and PC access, and a reception area for staff to receive inquiries from customers.

A 520m² secure archive repository houses the majority of the Heritage Centre collection and boasts over four kilometres of mobile shelving.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Geelong L ibrary & Heritage Centre

Level 5 The high ground Wurdi Youang – Big hill in the middle of the plains

The fifth floor features a flexible, multipurpose event space with capacity to seat up to 300 people. High-end audio visual technology and facilities make this the perfect venue for business events, receptions, dinners and weddings. The domed ceiling is lined with ochre-coloured hexagonal tiles which replicate the geometry of the external domed facade. A large acoustic stackable wall system enables the space to be divided into two smaller rooms. Mirror-finished doors open onto the large north-facing deck with glazed balustrades, providing spectacular views over Corio Bay to the You Yangs.

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Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

The Geelong Library & Heritage Centre (GLHC) is a highly efficient, environmentally sensitive building. It incorporates a number of environmentally sustainable design features which have resulted in it receiving a 5 Green Star rating (Public Building Design category) from the Green Building Council of Australia.

The GLHC was the first municipal building in Geelong to achieve this rating.

Energy efficiency The inclusion of a number of energy efficiency features have resulted in the GLHC producing 40% less greenhouse gas emissions than comparably-sized, non-green buildings. These features include high-performance glazing, smart lighting systems, displacement air-conditioning systems and in-slab heating. The building’s photovoltaic system, which sits atop the adjacent Peace Memorial building in Johnstone Park, will generate an estimated 35,000kWh of electricity each year.

Water-wise Water-efficient fixtures and fittings, rainwater harvesting and a greywater treatment system ensure the GLHC is a water-wise building, consuming 79% less potable water than non-green buildings of similar size. Rainwater harvested from the domed roof is stored in a 50 kilolitre tank, treated and then used in toilets and to supplement landscaping irrigation.

Up to 600 litres of greywater generated by showers and basin taps in the municipal building is also collected and treated each day.

A learning resource for visitors The building’s environmental performance, including real-time data from the building management system, can be accessed by visitors on touch-screens within the building. Designed to be appealing to children, the displays create an opportunity for young people to explore and understand the environmental performance of the GLHC and to engage with this important topic.

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Project Information & Acknowledgements

ESD Features

Environmentally sustainable design

Project:

Structural/Civil Engineer:

Geelong Library & Heritage Centre

Irwinconsult Pty Ltd

Project Owner:

ESD Consultant & Building Services Engineer:

City of Greater Geelong

Umow Lai Pty Ltd

Project Client: Arts & Culture Department City of Greater Geelong

Acoustic Consultants: Vipac

Library service provider: Geelong Regional Library Corporation

Construction: Kane Constructions Pty Ltd

Completion: November 2015

Quantity Surveyor: Slattery Australia Pty Ltd

Funding partners: City of Greater Geelong - $20.5 million State Government of Victoria - $15 million Australian Government - $10 million

Site:

Building Surveyor: McKenzie Group Consulting

OHS Consultants: One Group

51 Little Malop Street, Geelong, Victoria

Project inclusions: 6,000m2, five public levels, 100,000 print and multimedia collection items, high-end digital technology, heritage centre archive and reading room, children and youth floor, staff floor, 80-seat café, meeting rooms, fifth-floor major event space, and 200m2 gallery space.

Project Managers: Capital Projects Department City of Greater Geelong Davis Langdon Australia

Architect: ARM Architecture

Technology: Multitek Solutions Information Potential Think Technology AARnet Barracom

RFID Technology: FE Technologies

Collection: James Bennett Bolinda Wavesound Ulverscroft