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Tamarama Surf Life Saving Club sits on a headland above a sandstone escarpment enjoying panoramic views over Tamarama beach. The building has a very public interface that results from its entwined relationship with the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk which wraps around its southern facade. However, despite this, the existing Surf Club appears closed off with limited visual engagement with the public. With a view towards increasing club membership and enhancing the Surf Club's engagement with the local community, the challenge was to improve the quality and functionality of the built form. Whilst the club building itself is not a listed heritage item our principal strategy was to recognise and respond to the historical importance and local significance of the club being a foundation surf club and one of the first in the world (est. 1906). An art-deco parapet wall is retained as a historic anchor for the Surf Club's new identity. The wall will be repaired and new openings made to accommodate new views over the beach. Improvements to the building include level entries and walkways, upgraded amenities to comply with current standards and equal access, enlarged and improved storage facilities, and a new first-floor main hall with anbexternal terrace to take advantage of the spectacular views over Tamarama Beach, and provision of a new lift. In total, the refurbishment will provide for improved surf life-saving operations and make the facility more accessible to a wider proportion of the community while simultaneously enhancing the interface between the Surf Club and the general public.

Client: Waverley Council and Tamarama Surf Life Saving Club

Program: Surf Life Saving Club

Scale: 660 sqm

Year: 2009 - Ongoing

Scope: Design, DA, Documentation, Site Services

Team: SDA Structures, Lo-Fi, ITM Design, Meinhardt, Acoustic Logic, Audio Systems Logic, Deuce Design, FLUX, Accessible Building Solutions, J Squared, Austmont, KR Stubbs, Private Certifiers Australia, SCL Schumann

Location: Tamarama, NSW

Status: Under Construction

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Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment
Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment
Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment
Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment
Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment
Tamarama SLSC Refurbishment

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Tamarama SLSC

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.