The rebuilding of the Narbethong Community Hall, destroyed in the Black Saturday fires of 2009, presented an opportunity to create an improved public space for the Community and a new typology for Community buildings. The previous hall was a basic timber structure built more than 50 years ago, it lacked adequate facilities and was not designed to capture the beautiful landscape aspects of the site. The new Narbethong Community Hall is a highly transparent building that allows the residents and passing traffic to see the liveliness of the community whilst allowing the occupants of the Hall to have a strong connection with the surrounding landscape.
Due to the proximity of the Bush Reserve, the new Hall is required to meet a high Bush Fire Attack level. The outside of the building is made up of floor to ceiling double glazing wrapped in a bronze mesh fire resistant screen while internally, the primary material is local timber.
All of the professional services including architecture, engineering and surveying have been provided pro-bono and most of the building and materials were delivered at a reduced cost. In addition, many other suppliers have either donated or provided (at reduced costs), a range of top quality furniture and fittings.
The Narbethong Community Hall is a pro bono collaboration between the Narbethong Public Hall Committee, Emergency Architects Australia, BVN Architecture, Arup, Edwards Moore, Rodney Vapp& Associates, Rodney Aujard& Associates, BSGM, Contour Consultants Australia, Douglas Partners, Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture and Hedger Constructions.
