By TS Architects
The Spencer Park Surf Life Saving Club is located on Spencerville Beach, bordering the popular recreational areas of Spencer Park and Bottle Lake Forrest. The club has a rich forty-eight year history in the area and is active in both competitive Surf Live Saving and youth water safety programs. For much of this time, the club has patrolled the beach from a small Council-owned structure, adapted from ablution block to makeshift Club House. The project set to demolish this and reconstruct an inviting environment for the expanding club. The building would also serve as community space, after the previous Spencerville Community Centre was lost in the 2011 Earthquakes.
The concept is programmed around the movement of people and equipment and responds to both the immediate and wider site characteristics. Internal spaces are arranged according to priority and contained within three distinct wings. The result is a series of efficient forms, utilising robust materials that stands strong in its harsh conditions while receding in to the surrounding dunes.
In collaboration with Urban Function Architecture.
TSArchitects Ltd is the Ōtautahi/Christchurch based architectural practice of multi-award winning Architect Tobin Smith.
Tobin has formed a strong reputation in the architectural industry for his progressive designs, particularly in the residential housing and multi-housing sector. A unique blend of creativity and pragmatism has resulted in an impressive portfolio of built work spanning multiple locations throughout New Zealand and in a broad range of size and budget. Each project is specifically informed by its site, context and client’s wishes, but each carries an overarching desire to be meaningful and unashamedly ‘kiwi’.
Having found previous success as a founding director of CoLab Architecture Ltd and COMMON Ltd, TSArchitects Ltd signifies and celebrates 20 years of practice for Tobin and his team.
“Uninhabited by tradition, inspired by the past and resolutely optimistic about the future, we enjoy nothing more than making great buildings for great people”.