The Maitland Riverlink crystallises new value for the regional centre Maitland, both in terms of its identity and its assets. The project supports revitalisation of the central business precinct, extending it beyond the main street to the river.
The space acts as a kind of ‘public living room’ for the community, reactivating an unused part of town and drawing locals back to the river that is a fundamental part of Maitland’s heritage, whilst bringing tourists and visitors to the town. In recent years, rural Maitland’s town centre had turned its back on the river, disconnecting it from its main commercial and community activities. A series of devastating floods meant locals no longer see the river as an asset, but as a threat to the community. Working with McGregor Coxall, CHROFI identified an opportunity to help reframe that dynamic, then worked closely with Maitland City Council to find buildings that could be purchased and redeveloped to act as a pivot for the revitalisation of the centre of town.
The architecture is intended to act as a civic set piece in a street full of great buildings. It also registers as a landmark when viewed from the levee bank, from neighbouring Lorn and the Belmore Bridge. The design balances these architectural ambitions with consideration for the human scale. The precise angles of the walls, ceiling and floor, twist and distort the central space, to subtly slow movement through. The gateway frames a public space that invites occupation, a place to sit, shade in summer, a mobile library, access to high-quality public amenities and a restaurant and can all be transformed into an outdoor cinema or theatre for the community.
Brick was chosen as the primary building finish to complement the existing materials and textures of the streetscape and Maitland in general. The warmth and texture of clay bricks works at the urban scale and at the interior human scale to provide an enduring finish. Hand-made specials help the monolithic brick walls bend at unlikely angles giving the material an unexpected and abstract quality. Where there is a requirement for light, transparency or operability, a complementary pattern of light-weight timber batten panels is used to provide these qualities while retaining the fine-scale expression of the brick patterning.
Client:
Maitland City Council
Program:
Public Plaza, Gateway Structure, Cafe, Amenities
Scale:
439 sqm
Year:
2012 - 2018
Scope:
Design, Documentation, Site Services
Team:
Braddon Snape, SDA, Cardno, City Plan, JBA, Northrop, AJ Whipps, Steve Watson Partners, BCA Access Solutions, Marshall Day Entertech, Frost, RLB, Deuce Design, MCD Fire Engineering
Location:
Maitland NSW
Visualisation:
Doug & Wolf, CHROFI
Status:
Complete
Photography: Simon Wood, Edge Commercial Photography, Matt Abbott, Brett Boardman
Professionals used in
Maitland Riverlink
More projects from
CHROFI
About the
Professional
From practice beginnings with TKTS in Times Square New York in 2000, CHROFI has become renowned for designs that are inventive and responsive to particularities of locality, while meeting the client’s objectives and aspirations. Highlights from our two decades of history include the Maitland Riverlink Building that reconnects the town with its river; Lune de Sang that transforms a former dairy property to a sustainably harvested forest and retreat; Harbord Diggers Redevelopment that nestles a large club and housing development within a sensitive headland; The Goods Line that converts a former rail corridor into a new city destination; and the Ian Potter Conservatory Canberra that reinvents the performance and visitor experience of the traditional glasshouse.
We are one of the most awarded Australian practices of our generation. International recognition includes the New York Art Commission Award, 3 x World Architecture Festival Awards, 5 x Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Awards, and locally, the AIA Jørn Utzon Award, Sulman Medal, Walter Burley Griffin Award and the NSW Architecture Medallion. We are known for our integrated approach that delivers both private and public outcomes, enriching the life of cities. We are passionate about how the design of buildings and the public realm can shape and elevate the human experience. The firm’s work is frequently cited in media and government design guidelines, its design innovation taught through case studies at architecture schools around the world, and its buildings and places loved by clients and the community.
Central to the practice is the growing list of satisfied clients, who hire us for our ability to tackle complex project challenges and bring to life their vision. We work with public agencies, commercial organisations and private individuals across a broad range of project scales and typologies. From master planning and feasibility studies to tendering and construction, CHROFI provides a complete architectural service defined by a clear strategy, imaginative design, technical knowledge, and methodical project management. We make listening and design agility a priority so that our clients can be confident that their objectives will be delivered on time and within budget.