Marrickville Library has Successfully Form a Gateway to The Suburb

As intended, Marrickville Library and its entry courtyard successfully form a gateway to the suburb. However, additionally and more importantly BVN have created a new heart for the Marrickville community. The Library in form and program, represents this diverse community. The roof mirrors then bounces away from the existing heritage listed Marrickville Hospital, tying in with the pattern of two- storey housing to Marrickville Road, while presenting at a warehouse scale to the entry courtyard.

Internally, the variety of spaces caters to the diverse range of uses and people welcomed in this contemporary library setting. Users can sit on tiered seating below a soaring ceiling, in cushioned nooks, or on the open balcony of the refurbished hospital. The new addition celebrates this hospital by wrapping around it to enable the heritage brick facade to remain a feature in the new timber- and concrete- lined space. The multi-peaked roof takes on a further role by providing generous natural light while controlling acoustics and venting hot air.

This project represents a true vision for the future of public architecture which must be more than a monument to its purpose or its maker. It achieves this by being a facilitator of community engagement, a positive contributor to and representation of its contextual fabric, and a celebration of its historic and natural environment.

Project Information

Architect: BVN

Photography: Tom Roe