‘Tin shed’ takes on the best to win top honour in WA Architecture Awards

The Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre has caused a boil-over at the WA Architecture Awards, beating out the likes of Perth’s $750 million Raine Square project to win the top prize. The $4.5 million community hub, designed by iredale pedersen hook architects with Patrick Beale of Advanced Timber Concepts, was awarded the George Temple Poole Award for the best building overall in a videolink ceremony last Friday night. In recent years, the top honour has gone to major projects such as the Optus Stadium, Fiona Stanley Hospital and the RAC Arena. The Pingelly centre — described by Mr Beale as a “slightly tarted-up tin shed” — was recognised by judges for its excellence in design, sustainability, technical innovation and community impact. It beat 79 other entries in this year’s awards, including the $750 million redevelopment of Raine Square. Situated on the perimeter of the town’s sports oval and built from prefabricated engineered timber, the jury described the design as exemplary in its approach to sustainability and community impact. “The Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre is a beautifully detailed, technically innovative, sustainable timber building that draws from Pingelly’s community spirit and long history of Indigenous AFL players,” the jury said. “It’s the ultimate nod to country life, contributing to the economy of the Wheatbelt community and long-term reconciliation.’ The jury commended the use of timber as an alternative to steel or concrete, saying the project demonstrated how wood could excel in aesthetics while providing shade, ventilation and natural light. The 3700sqm PRACC is believed to be WA’s biggest timber building. In addition to the George Temple Poole Award, the PRACC received the Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainable Architecture and an Architecture Award in the Public Architecture category. Finn Pedersen, from the lead architects IPH, said he was surprised to take out the high accolade. “It’s always very surprising when you win an award, it’s very competitive every year and there was great projects in all categories,” he said. “To get the big gong that beats all of them, it’s fantastic and for a sustainable project too. From our point of view sustainability is very close to our hearts and it was a key driver for the project so it’s great to see sustainability commended.” An all-purpose field takes pride of place at the centre of the facility, with a 120m veranda along the spine of the building, to protect spectators from the elements. The centre also has a sports hall and function centre, changerooms, a bar and commercial kitchen, a lounge, a big foyer for civic events and a cultural room for the Indigenous community. Mr Pedersen said the structural timber had to be imported from New Zealand because Australia could not yet produce it to the same strength and quality. He said the Shire negotiated with the State to access yellow stringybark that had been planted in the 1960s that was to be used for power poles. “To design a building that is quite radical in terms of how it’s delivered, so an all-timber building and to do that out of modern engineered timber systems is really great,” he said. “It was a wonderful process and I look forward to getting down and having a beer and a burger in the function centre watching a football game.”