2015 – FINALIST, Public Building & Urban Design, Sustainability Awards

Hazel Glen Child & Family Centre uses a vibrant patchwork of glazed bricks, along with various timbers to create a welcoming family centre.  This state-of-the-art building consists of four childcare rooms, maternal and child health consulting suites, various sized community rooms and a central flexible community gathering space.  Located in the heart of the Plenty River Valley, the centre references the winding Plenty River in its meandering walls and verandah lines and with metaphorical flows and eddies through the central space, while the roofline responds to the horizon line of the distant Kinglake Ranges.

Hazel Glen Child & Family Centre was designed with a strong focus on environmental sustainability. While the building is a good technical example of sustainable design, the key conceptual intention was to root the building in its surroundings in a positive way and provide experiential connections with the natural world, encouraging learning through direct experience.