Leading architects MJA Studio was commissioned to design new architecture for the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.
They considered the opportunity a rare privilege and responsibility.
The Club has a history stretching back 126 years.
It’s located in one of the most beautiful spots on the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia.
And contains buildings that span the history of the club.
But the old post-war junior club, dinghy shed, and ablutions block had reached the end of their life.
They provided inadequate storage and amenity.
And the low ground that they were positioned on was prone to yearly flooding.
So MJA Studio’s brief from the Club was to demolish these three buildings and consolidate and improve their function through the creation of a new facility.
The new building MJA Studio designed was conceived as three separate elements that slide under and through one another.
The first of these three elements is a low-slung parapeted form facing the north.
It relates directly to the heritage clubhouse’s vehicular and pedestrian entry sequence.
And it is deliberately deferential in materiality and scale to the extant clubhouse.
This weatherboard and limestone-clad form houses training rooms, a fitness centre, change rooms and stores.
External operable screens to the north help control light and privacy to the change rooms behind.
The second taller form is characterised by its free-spanning Aramax roof, significant cantilevers, and shadowy materiality which reduces its visual impact from the Swan River.
As this facility is a high-performance training centre for junior sailors, the MJA Studio design team chose a high-performance roofing material to be the hero of the project’s built form.
Clerestory glazing to the centre of the plan provides the clubroom with natural light and ventilation whilst opening itself up to a substantially covered verandah and the river foreshore beyond.
Serving both the clubroom and the verandah is a small commercial kitchen that caters to both internal and external functions.
The third form in MJA Studio’s design is a free venting boatshed with direct loading to the riverside via perforated sliding doors.
The gauge of these perforations is varied to emblazon the club’s logo and minimise the potential for wind-generated whistling.
The insulated panel skillion roof slides in and under the Aramax roof of the primary form.
Across the project MJA Studio’s careful attention to detail sees a series of elevational datums unite forms inside and out.
The new building is located 25m from the Swan River and to address the problem of seasonal flooding, one metre of fill was brought in to raise the floor level above anticipated flood levels.
Drainage swales on the western side of the building were also introduced to deal with the large amount of fast-flowing run-off during heavy rain.
The Club has fully embraced the building with young sailors relishing their opportunities in this award-winning facility.
Project Awards
Winner of the Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture 2022
Commendation for Public Architecture, AIA Awards WA Chapter
Project Details
Completion Date – 2022
Building Levels – 1
Project Team
Architecture
MJA Studio
MJA is a dynamic and nimble design practice that aims to create happy and healthy buildings that drive positive change in the built environment, exceed the expectations of their clients, and provide tangible community benefits.
The firm operates from Subiaco in Perth and Fitzroy in Melbourne.
Their project team included Wes Barrett, Jimmy Thompson, Jonathan Speer, and Ash Blackwell.
Photography
Dion Robeson
Dion is an architectural, interior, and commercial fit-out photographer based in Perth, Western Australia.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 MJA Studio. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Dion Robeson. All Rights Reserved.
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