Brompton Pavilion

Cranbourne South, Australia

Add To Collection

Other Projects by Craig Tan Architects

Add To Collection

Roji Salon

Brompton Pavilion

Cranbourne South, Australia

Firm

Craig Tan Architects

Type

Commercial › Showroom
Cultural › Pavilion

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2014

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

$500K - 1M

Photos

Jaime rrio (29)

Located on a former chicken farm in Cranbourne South, Victoria, Australia, the Brompton Pavilion is a residential display pavilion quite unlike any other.

An innovative vision initiated by the residential developers Wolfdene, the pavilion arose from close collaboration with Oculus Landscape Architects and Clear Graphic Design. Conceived as a ‘lens to the landscape’, the pavilion is proposed to activate the site and engage the local community. It consists of an experience suite and a café (that will be completed as part of stage 2), the square shaped pavilion is configured around a central grassed courtyard viewing onto a manicured axial field, and frames contrasting views to the surrounding rural fields.

External grey stained timber screens redolent of the scale and colour of the neighbouring chicken sheds enclose the pavilion. Within the screen, the programmatic volumes are nested around the courtyard, with smaller courtyards inhabiting the interstitial spaces within.

The porosity of the external perimeter timber skin is modulated at sections to frame views between the different landscapes arranged within and around the pavilion.

Nested within the perimeter screen are the four key volumes of the experience suite, café, toilets, and a covered outdoor seating area which are linked by a covered walkway around the central common. Smaller planted courtyards inhabit the interstitial spaces between these volumes drawing nature deep within the pavilion.
Within the pavilion perimeter, the material palette transforms to the richer warmth of spotted gum decking, soffits and screens, correlating with the more intimate points of interaction.

In counterpoint, the resonant colours of the Brompton branding have been introduced into the building as accented moments within the pavilion. The Southern courtyard is glimpsed through the external screen to the nearby roundabout, providing striking glimpses of a fiery colour gradient. This glows throughout the day and into the evening, providing a visual beacon to the passing traffic.

The entry to the experience suite, is conceived as a tunnel of dappled and variegated light. Stained pine screen walls and ceilings provide a variegated texture and light within the space, choreographing views to the key views and various courtyards whilst also subtly subdividing the space into different zones and levels of intimacy.
The café fitout will be fully completed as part of stage 2 around the middle of 2015, and should activate the Eastern side of the pavilion, providing a further contribution to the new community.

Constructed predominantly from pine studs and plywood, on timber stump foundations, the pavilion was completed in only 4 months, at a good economy based on scale. Designed for disassembly, it is anticipated that the pavilion will be relocated on the site in about 5 years to operate as a key component of the future community town centre, and ensuring a long term sustainable outcome.