Life on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia is characterized by a surf, beach, and sporting culture with a deep affinity for the land and seascape.
The Mona Vale SLSC is an integral part of the local community and is intertwined with its physical surroundings.
Completed in 2022, the new Club building designed by internationally acclaimed architects Warren and Mahoney provides a new ‘home base’ for the Club.
The $10 million project, which includes the new beach amenities block south of the main building, provides facilities that are family-friendly and accessible.
It caters not only to the surf club and its members, but also to the local boardriders’ club, beachgoers, and the whole community.
The W + M design is sympathetic to the environment, sustainable, and accessible.
It provides a popular function space for the community and meets the Club’s operational needs including the training of new lifesavers and the monitoring and patrolling of a large expanse of coastline.
The club building is a social gathering space for all ages and a focal point for many community projects in and out of the water.
Designed to last and with environmental preservation in mind, the Warren and Mahoney design team designed the new Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club to foster greater community participation and generate new revenue to sustain its operations over the decades ahead.
The three elevated, glass pavilions are angled to capture the views and beauty of the beach and headlands. From within, the interior design rewards visitors with a rich experience too.
The new facility sits on Garigal, Cannalgal, and Kay-ye-my country and was co-funded by the NSW Government’s Stronger Communities Fund, Northern Beaches Council, and the Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club.
The redevelopment of the existing club presented project architects Warren and Mahoney (W+M) with a unique opportunity to set the standard for SLSC in the region.
They have delivered both a world-class building that meets the needs of its existing occupants along with dynamic new social spaces to amplify the surf, beach, and sporting lifestyle.
Extensive engagement with members of both the community and the Club enabled the W+M design team to analyze and understand the inner workings of the organization alongside the myriad needs of locals.
The Club includes surf lifesaving facilities, a large storage area, a gym and change facilities for members, a family change room, an accessibility toilet, a disabled adult change room, a café, a restaurant, a function room, and a members’ bar and lounge.
Facilities are family-friendly, with spaces and amenities to cater to all generations – from nippers in training to retirees.
Particular consideration was given to welcoming migrant communities that are a principal target for water safety campaigns.
The building is open and active on all sides, with a cafe at ground level and sightlines through to the water, linking the park and beach.
Materials including timber and textured raw concrete were chosen to reflect the natural environment and withstand exposure to the elements.
A separate amenities and public change facility situated alongside the Club has also been built for use for the significant number of public bathers using the pool or sea.
President of the Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club, Paula Tocquer, said the old building, although housing many fond memories over the past 40 years, was no longer functional for the growing membership, community activities, and beachgoers.
The new club building is just amazing.
The quality and the design are beautiful.
So many locals have commented on how it fits into the surrounding landscape, and it looks fantastic from the water.
It not only has considerably more additional space but is designed in such a way that operations will be more functional, safer, and enjoyable for the patrol members.
We do foresee that having a clubhouse that is purpose-built will help attract more community involvement with the Club.
We’ve already had 130 different inquiries about using the venue space – for weddings, yoga classes, and other gatherings.
The much-needed upgrade of the amenities block at the northern end of the beach will now also house the weekly lifeguards and additional access to emergency life-saving equipment.
This has not only freed up more space in the SLSC main building but increased our lifesaving capability to respond to emergencies at the more popular northern end of the beach.
More than 70% of incidents occur at the basin and pool areas of Mona Vale beach.
Sven Ollmann, a Principal at Warren and Mahoney, with more than 25 years of experience working at the forefront of sustainable commercial design across Europe and Australia, led the W + M design team.
Ollmann began his career in Europe before moving to Sydney in 2002 to lead the Foster + Partners team on the award-winning design for the landmark Deutsche Bank tower, one of the first genuine international commercial buildings in Sydney.
He shared these remarks about the Mona Vale SLSC project:
Sydney’s Northern Beaches is an area with a distinct local identity, deeply tied to its physical surroundings.
Surf lifesaving clubs play a central role in community life – providing vibrant and fun social gathering places, whilst also delivering critical Surf Lifesaving operations that see everyday local heroes watch over the community as it plays.
Functionality sits at the heart of the design to deliver an enhanced experience.
By drawing the community, the park, and the beach together, the new facility will continue to support an important safety and community service while also being a more inclusive people-first space – breaking down barriers to welcome new people from right across the community into the Club.
The project needed the utmost durability in terms of materials and design aesthetic given its coastal location.
It was designed to work with, as well as resist where necessary, the harsh coastal environment.
The ultimate building durability comes from working with the site elements – not against them.
So, we took existing elements like the sand dunes, sun, and wind into consideration to ensure an improved user experience would manifest.
The locality was also an important consideration, with the building aiming to build on the identity of Mona Vale as a place, acknowledging its people and celebrating the local history and culture.
The Club will be well placed to play the role of social connector, acting as the gateway and welcome to Mona Vale Beach.
And for Warren and Mahoney, sustainability is always a key focus, so we’ve maximized the existing passive daylighting and shading to define efficient temperature-control and ventilation strategies.
We’ve also carefully considered construction and material selections.
Wherever possible, we have selected to use materials that are low embodied Co2, renewable rather than finite, locally sourced, have the highest environmental accreditation, and have a positive effect on occupant/user health.
The building design also supports and preserves the immediate local ecology.
We’ve focused on controlling water usage and run-off, and installed a 70,000L rainwater tank to be used in the daily cleaning of the club’s gear after a long day in the surf.
We’re incredibly proud that the design of the building has exceeded all stakeholder expectations in its scope to boost membership revenue, secure the club’s future, and create an enduring legacy for the community.
Aboriginal art is also tied into aspects of the building with artists Michael Glasheen and Leslie McLeod commissioned to develop works for the indoor and outdoor space.
Shields are incorporated into the columns outside the café and marine figures are carved into the seating structures around the site, reflecting and celebrating Indigenous connection to Country.
Client Feedback
Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said the beautiful new Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club exceeds all expectations.
Lifesavers play such a vital role in keeping our community safe and it’s important that their facilities are top-notch.
This building meets all the practical requirements of surf lifesavers, but it is also flexible for a wide range of uses.
This spectacular new building is an enduring legacy and something the whole community can be proud of.
President of Surf Life Saving NSW George Shales said:
The new facilities will help the club’s 1,200 members and lifeguards to keep the community safe.
Congratulations to everyone involved in this project, it looks fantastic and will provide volunteer lifesavers with fit-for-purpose facilities to support their vital role in protecting the public.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2022
Project Cost -$10,000,000
Project Team
Architecture
Warren and Mahoney
Warren and Mahoney is an award-winning and insight-led multidisciplinary architectural practice with more than 300 staff working from several locations within Australia and New Zealand.
Photography
Brett Boardman
Brett is a well-established commercial and architectural photographer based in Sydney.
Sean Fennessy
Sean is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Melbourne and is a regular contributor to Monocle, Wallpaper, and Feast Magazines.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 Warren and Mahoney. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Brett Boardman and Sean Fennessy. All Rights Reserved.
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