Surry Hills Library, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Surry Hills Library and Community Centre
Photo John Gollings

Name of the Library: Surry Hills Library
Parent Organisation: City of Sydney Council

Street Address: 405 Crown Street Surry Hills 2010
Postal Address: Same as above
Telephone : 61 02 83746230
Web :http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/explore/libraries/branches/surry-hills-library
Library Email:library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Type of Library : Multipurpose  building
Population served: City of Sydney (local government area) population 191,918, Surry Hills (village catchment) population 15,348
Project Type: Refurbishment
Size (square metres): 898m2
Date of Completion:  Opened 2009
Architect:  Richard Francis Jones from FJMT

Surry Hills Library
John Gollings

Description
Key building features:
The new Surry Hills Library and Community Centre has been designed to achieve measurable standards of excellence in sustainable design and, ultimately, set new benchmarks in environmental performance for hybrid public buildings. Some examples are:
• Rainwater will be collected, treated and re-used for the flushing of toilets and watering the environmental atrium plants and Collins Street Reserve lawn.
• Achieving a high quality Indoor Environment is a key goal for the project and the building’s geo thermal cooling provides access to clean air with a low energy cost
• A photovoltaic array consisting of some 40 roof mounted solar panels
• High levels of natural day-lighting throughout the building and daylight controlled light fixtures
• Solar tracking louver façade to minimise direct light penetration to control glare and thermal gains
• Effective insulation of the building envelope including the Green Roof and ventilated facades, where natural grasses reduce energy loss through the roof and the façade cladding zone is ventilated to minimize thermal gains
• Movement controlled lighting which ensures lights turn off automatically when empty of people

Materials
Building materials have been specially selected for their durability so as to reduce maintenance and material replacement through the building’s life cycle. Waste management strategies and recycling have been adopted throughout construction and when the building is occupied there will be a centralised collection and sorting facility.
Sustainable material use includes:
– a post-tensioning structural system that reduces the quantity of concrete required for structural framing
– use of alternative materials to PVC for plumbing and electrical services
– Finishes that contain low levels of products which harm the environment such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
– Timber products sourced from sustainable forests

Surry Hills Library is part of the City of Sydney Library Network and regularly hosts a range of innovate and engaging events, such as the Late Night Library series this event offers Sydneysiders a range of exciting events on Thursday nights, from storytelling sessions and current affairs debates to live music performances and film screenings.

Awards, case studies, further information

• 2014 Local Government Arts & Culture Awards
• 2011 Best New Global Design award International Architecture Awards  Chicago
• National Award for Sustainable Architecture and National Award for Public Architecture at the National Architecture Awards
• Public Architecture Award, Milo Dunphy Award for Sustainable Architecture and John Verge Award for Interior Architecture at the NSW Architecture Awards
• Environmental Excellence Award at the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s NSW Awards
• The Green Globe Award for Local Government Sustainability at the NSW Department of Environment’s Awards
• Excellence in Construction – Public Building Award at the Master Builders Association Awards
• Award for Excellence in Sustainability at the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating Awards
• Sustainability Award at the Building Product News Awards
• Second place in the Emilio Ambasz Award for Green Architecture
• Finalist in the National Interior Design Awards
• Finalist in the United Nations World Environment Day Awards
• Finalist in the Banksia Environment Awards
• Highly Commended in the Asia Pacific Property Awards
• Highly Commended in the Interior Design of Excellence Awards
• Highly Commended in the Australian Timber Design Awards for a NSW Public/Commercial Building and Best Use of Timber Panels.

 

 

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