Wicks Park Amenities
By Sam Crawford Architects
2019 Wan Country / Marrickville, NSW
2020 AIA NSW Award for Small Project Architecture – Commendation
Wicks Park is a small neighbourhood park surrounded by light industrial and commercial buildings, including warehouses, cafes, breweries, and a service station. It is well used during the day for tai chi, tennis, dog walking, picnicking and play. By night it is rather dark and a little scary.
The Wicks Park Amenities were conceived as a lantern in the park; welcoming, open and light throughout the day, and somewhat of a beacon in the evening.
Safety, privacy and accessibility were key to Inner West Council’s brief. In addition to providing accessible toilets, the building needed to be sufficiently robust for ease of maintenance and be capable of coping with vandalism and anti-social behaviour, and yet make people feel safe and welcome.
In considering the siting of the building, it was agreed that it was important that it be located to have high visibility from the street; be accessible to passers-by, as well as close enough to users of the tennis courts, the children’s playground, and park visitors in general.
An impact resistant polycarbonate panel forms the upper walls and roof, giving the little building a lantern like quality. The base is solid and private where required, and open and transparent elsewhere to maximise visibility, and airflow. A composite frame of steel and recycled hardwood supports the lantern, and recycled timber battens provide degrees of privacy and passive surveillance.
Jury Citation, 2020 NSW Architecture Awards:
…Sam Crawford Architects have balanced the need for robust details suitable for a public area and safety concerns while also providing a building that welcomes visitors. Although modest in size, this project uses architectural thinking to improve public space.
Project Team
Sam Crawford, Imogene Tudor, Anna Paton, Benjamin Chan, Ken Warr
Builder
Kellyville Building
Consultants
Access Consultant – Blackett Maguire and Goldsmith
Geotechnical Engineer – Butler Partners
Hydraulic Engineer – ITM Design
Lighting & Electrical – Lighting, Art + Science
Quantity Surveyor – Bylett and Associates
Structural Engineer – Cantilever Engineers
Client
Inner West Council
Photographer
Brett Boardman
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About the
Professional
Established in 1999, Sam Crawford Architects (SCA) is a design driven architectural practice based in Sydney, Australia. Over the last 20 years, we have established a well-earned reputation for design excellence in residential, cultural and public projects. In addition to our expertise in these areas, we’re also commencing our work in the education sector with both private and public clients.
Our work has been widely published, nationally and internationally and has been recognised in numerous local, state and national awards from the Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Timber Design Awards, Local Government Heritage, Conservation and Urban Design as well as numerous industry awards & commendations.
PeopleOur team is led by Practice Principal and Design Director, Sam Crawford. Alongside the recognition for his built work Sam is highly regarded within the architectural profession. He has led humanitarian architectural projects, conducted gallery based and built research projects, been invited to serve as head-juror for the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Awards, and was a joint creative-director of the 2014 Australian Institute of Architects National Conference. Sam is co-chair of the Australian Institute of Architects’ Medium Practice Forum, and a member of the Government Architect NSW State Design Review Panel.
With a practice of our size, clients can be assured that Sam is intimately involved in each project. We work in an open-plan studio environment in collaborative teams to ensure the smooth delivery of projects across all scales. Our team is comprised of highly skilled professionals, graduates and students. This mix of team members ensures that each project benefits from the close attention of a dedicated project architect with a support team to efficiently deliver the project. We also have an experienced and dedicated documentation and detailing expert who brings extensive experience of construction detailing to each project.
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